IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i1p504-d1022908.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic Efficiency of Solar and Rainwater Systems—A Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Lucia Bednárová

    (Institute of Earth Resources, Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia)

  • Henrieta Pavolová

    (Institute of Earth Resources, Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia)

  • Zuzana Šimková

    (Institute of Earth Resources, Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia)

  • Tomáš Bakalár

    (Institute of Earth Resources, Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia)

Abstract

The study deals with the analysis of data from a selected tourism facility and the implementation of a solar system and a rainwater system, which are an alternative to commonly used energy sources. The objective is to evaluate the potential savings from the use of the solar system for water heating and the rainwater system for purposes other than potable use with respect to local conditions of sunlight and rainwater variability. The facility holds 257 beds allocated in 124 rooms on 5 floors. The result of the contribution is an economic evaluation of the efficiency of investments in the proposed systems and the resulting recommendations in the field of energy flows in the selected facility. Appropriate formulas including the consumption of hot water, the amount of energy needed to heat water, the cost of the consumed energy necessary for heating and the average annual rainfall in the location, water consumption for clearly identified purposes of alternation with rainwater, the initial investment costs and operating costs of the solar and rainwater systems, were used for an economic evaluation of the investment into the solar and rainwater systems. Based on the economic evaluation, the economic efficiency of the proposed systems and the return on investment was calculated. The payback periods for the solar system used for hot water heating and the rainwater system used for non-potable purposes, accepting the local conditions, are 7 and 15 years, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucia Bednárová & Henrieta Pavolová & Zuzana Šimková & Tomáš Bakalár, 2023. "Economic Efficiency of Solar and Rainwater Systems—A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:504-:d:1022908
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/1/504/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/1/504/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Krystian Czernek & Marek Ochowiak & Daniel Janecki & Tomasz Zawilski & Leszek Dudek & Stanisław Witczak & Andżelika Krupińska & Magdalena Matuszak & Sylwia Włodarczak & Michał Hyrycz & Ivan Pavlenko, 2021. "Sedimentation Tanks for Treating Rainwater: CFD Simulations and PIV Experiments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Marcela Taušová & Peter Tauš & Lucia Domaracká, 2022. "Sustainable Development According to Resource Productivity in the EU Environmental Policy Context," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-15, June.
    3. Babatunde, A.A. & Abbasoglu, S. & Senol, M., 2018. "Analysis of the impact of dust, tilt angle and orientation on performance of PV Plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 1017-1026.
    4. Suzanne Dallman & Anita M. Chaudhry & Misgana K. Muleta & Juneseok Lee, 2016. "The Value of Rain: Benefit-Cost Analysis of Rainwater Harvesting Systems," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(12), pages 4415-4428, September.
    5. Vladimír Čech & Bohuslava Gregorová & Juliana Krokusová & Vladislava Košová & Pavel Hronček & Mário Molokáč & Jana Hlaváčová, 2020. "Environmentally Degraded Mining Areas of Eastern Slovakia As a Potential Object of Geotourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-26, July.
    6. Malik, Syed A. & Ayop, Abdul Rahman, 2020. "Solar energy technology: Knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of B40 households in one district of Malaysia towards government initiatives," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    7. Lucero Radonic, 2019. "Becoming with rainwater: A study of hydrosocial relations and subjectivity in a desert city," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(2), pages 291-303, June.
    8. Mayis G. Gulaliyev & Elchin R. Mustafayev & Gulsura Y. Mehdiyeva, 2020. "Assessment of Solar Energy Potential and Its Ecological-Economic Efficiency: Azerbaijan Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-11, February.
    9. Domenico Campisi & Simone Gitto & Donato Morea, 2018. "An Evaluation of Energy and Economic Efficiency in Residential Buildings Sector: A Multi-criteria Analisys on an Italian Case Study," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 8(3), pages 185-196.
    10. Gillingham, Kenneth, 2009. "Economic efficiency of solar hot water policy in New Zealand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3336-3347, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hao Cai & Ling Liang & Jing Tang & Qianxian Wang & Lihong Wei & Jiaping Xie, 2019. "An Empirical Study on the Efficiency and Influencing Factors of the Photovoltaic Industry in China and an Analysis of Its Influencing Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-22, November.
    2. Carmen María Calama-González & Ángel Luis León-Rodríguez & Rafael Suárez, 2019. "Daylighting Performance of Solar Control Films for Hospital Buildings in a Mediterranean Climate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Yelin Dai & Yue Liu & Xuhui Ding & Chundu Wu & Yu Chen, 2022. "Environmental Regulation Promotes Eco-Efficiency through Industrial Transfer: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-31, August.
    4. Hadeed Ashraf & Muhammad Sultan & Uzair Sajjad & Muhammad Wakil Shahzad & Muhammad Farooq & Sobhy M. Ibrahim & Muhammad Usman Khan & Muhammad Ahmad Jamil, 2022. "Potential Investigation of Membrane Energy Recovery Ventilators for the Management of Building Air-Conditioning Loads," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, March.
    5. Ziyuan Tang & Hasan Dinçer, 2019. "Selecting the House-of-Quality-Based Energy Investment Policies for the Sustainable Emerging Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Raghunathan Krishankumar & Arunodaya Raj Mishra & Kattur Soundarapandian Ravichandran & Xindong Peng & Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas & Fausto Cavallaro & Abbas Mardani, 2020. "A Group Decision Framework for Renewable Energy Source Selection under Interval-Valued Probabilistic linguistic Term Set," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-25, February.
    7. Conceição, Ricardo & González-Aguilar, José & Merrouni, Ahmed Alami & Romero, Manuel, 2022. "Soiling effect in solar energy conversion systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    8. Marcin Bukowski & Janusz Majewski & Agnieszka Sobolewska, 2020. "Macroeconomic Electric Energy Production Efficiency of Photovoltaic Panels in Single-Family Homes in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.
    9. Bartosz Ceran, 2020. "Multi-Criteria Comparative Analysis of Clean Hydrogen Production Scenarios," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    10. Domenico Campisi & Simone Gitto & Donato Morea, 2018. "Shari’ah-Compliant Finance: A Possible Novel Paradigm for Green Economy Investments in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-12, October.
    11. Arthur Moses & Jean E. T. McLain & Aminata Kilungo & Robert A. Root & Leif Abrell & Sanlyn Buxner & Flor Sandoval & Theresa Foley & Miriam Jones & Mónica D. Ramírez-Andreotta, 2022. "Minding the gap: socio-demographic factors linked to the perception of environmental pollution, water harvesting infrastructure, and gardening characteristics," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 12(3), pages 594-610, September.
    12. Yurtsev, Arif & Jenkins, Glenn P., 2016. "Cost-effectiveness analysis of alternative water heater systems operating with unreliable water supplies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 174-183.
    13. Sandro Sacchelli & Valerii Havrysh & Antonina Kalinichenko & Dariusz Suszanowicz, 2022. "Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic and Crop Cultivation: A Comparative Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-20, July.
    14. Fernando Antonanzas-Torres & Javier Antonanzas & Julio Blanco-Fernandez, 2021. "Environmental Impact of Solar Home Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-19, August.
    15. Alina Zaharia & Maria Claudia Diaconeasa & Laura Brad & Georgiana-Raluca Lădaru & Corina Ioanăș, 2019. "Factors Influencing Energy Consumption in the Context of Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-28, August.
    16. Tamim Younos & Juneseok Lee & Tammy Parece, 2019. "Twenty-first century urban water management: the imperative for holistic and cross-disciplinary approach," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 9(1), pages 90-95, March.
    17. Kumar Ganti, Praful & Naik, Hrushikesh & Kanungo Barada, Mohanty, 2022. "Environmental impact analysis and enhancement of factors affecting the photovoltaic (PV) energy utilization in mining industry by sparrow search optimization based gradient boosting decision tree appr," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(PA).
    18. Izabela Jonek-Kowalska, 2022. "Assessing the energy security of European countries in the resource and economic context," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 13(2), pages 301-334, June.
    19. Elżbieta Kacperska & Katarzyna Łukasiewicz & Piotr Pietrzak, 2021. "Use of Renewable Energy Sources in the European Union and the Visegrad Group Countries—Results of Cluster Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    20. Arif Yurtsev & Glenn P Jenkins, 2016. "An economic analysis of policies for promoting economically efficient water heater systems operating under seasonal climatic conditions," Energy & Environment, , vol. 27(2), pages 227-240, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:504-:d:1022908. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.