The development and utilization of solar energy in China have progressed rapidly, with both production and usage volumes ranking among the top in the world. To address the issue of uneven product quality in domestic solar water heaters hindering widespread adoption, thermal performance is recognized as a critical indicator of quality, in accordance with domestic and international industry standards and testing certification systems. Testing and analyzing thermal performance are highly significant for improving the energy conversion efficiency of solar water heaters and are crucial for rating the energy efficiency coefficient and grade under mandatory market access requirements.

Leveraging over a decade of experience in solar laboratory research and production, the company has developed the TMC-2 fully automatic solar water heater performance and energy efficiency testing system. This system complies with national, European, and international standards, utilizing both the mixing method and the drainage method to test the thermal performance and energy efficiency coefficients of all types of domestic solar water heaters on the market. The system is highly integrated, intelligent, compact, user-friendly, and cost-effective. It enables solar energy enterprises to establish self-inspection capabilities, promotes the implementation of energy efficiency labeling for solar water heater products, facilitates quality acceptance in building energy-saving projects, enhances on-site testing standards, improves testing efficiency, and encourages the architectural application of solar water heating systems. It is suitable for quality inspection centers, construction science academies, building engineering inspection units, manufacturing plants, universities, and other institutions for testing and research needs.

Unique Features of the Solar Water Heater Performance and Energy Efficiency Testing System

1. *The equipment is designed in accordance with international standards, accurately controlling test flow rates to meet the requirements of the national standard mixing and drainage methods. It represents advanced international technology and holds the invention certificate for the "Fully Automatic Solar Water Heater and Energy Efficiency Evaluation System and Method" (ZL201410230379.5) and the utility model certificate for the "Water Making Device for Solar Water Heater Performance and Energy Efficiency Evaluation System" (ZL201420277277.4). It features advanced, stable, and intelligent performance and technology, with fully independent Chinese intellectual property rights.

2. Main Control System: Utilizes a PLC main control + LABVIEW software, offering both manual and fully automatic functions with mutual interlocking. It is intelligent, stable, safe, and highly efficient. It accommodates both split and compact solar water heater types in universal workstations, supporting both the drainage and mixing methods. Capabilities include automatic water filling, automatic mixing, automatic heating and mixing, and automatic water discharge or drainage.

3. Flow Regulation System: Employs imported automatic electromagnetic regulating valves, electromagnetic flow meters, and regulation control systems, among other control and adjustment technologies. It can simultaneously manage water filling, mixing, drainage, and typical user water flow control feedback signals and data for each workstation's solar water heater. This reduces operational errors and ensures accurate testing for both the mixing method flow rate and drainage method volume.

4. Secondary Temperature Judgment: Effectively manages the temperature inside the water tank of the tested product to ensure accuracy.

5. Drainage Method: Special pipeline design minimizes issues caused by water pressure in the pipes, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of test data.

6. Intelligent Preheating Energy Balance Device: Reduces heat loss from the pipeline due to external environmental factors, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of test data.

7. Equipped with safety delay protection functions against dry running and dry firing, along with status alarm capabilities.

8. In addition to thermal performance testing (mixing and drainage methods), each station can be optionally equipped with compatibility for internal thermal shock, external thermal shock, rain testing, dry exposure, stagnation testing, and other inspection functions. This ensures that all specified tests can be completed with a single installation of the sample under inspection.

9. Designed to ensure that solar water heater tests (based on a solar water heater height of 1.5m) are not obstructed by front or rear rows or buildings on the same level throughout the year. The pipeline incorporates thermal circulation, pipeline emptying, and companion heating tape in both hardware and software designs, guaranteeing the system's reliability for testing under natural environmental conditions year-round.