T*SOL 2017, the new version of Valentin Software’s program for the simulation of solar thermal systems, was introduced at the beginning of the year. T*SOL 2017 enables its users to work with the program even more flexibly and, above all, to calculate and observe the system’s economic efficiency more precisely, which is particularly important for commercial applications. For this purpose, Valentin has expanded the automatic functions in the parameter optimization by adding financial values. These include, for example, the net present value, the return on capital and the heat price. This makes it possible to determine the influence of the size of various components of a solar thermal system, e.g. the size of a storage tank or the number of collectors, and to optimize them in respect of the economy efficiency.
The preconfigured systems have been extended by the addition of a system from the family of process heaters. In the new system “P3 – Preheating with buffer storage”, up to 6 collector loops and 6 different loads (process, DHW and building heating) can be connected (see screenshot).
To make it easier for the user to work with T*SOL, the database dialogs have been standardized and reworked so that selecting, pasting and editing components (collectors, heat generators and air collectors) is now much faster and smoother. In all dialogs, it is now possible to create your own favorites and to keep an overview of the frequently used components in the very extensive component databases.
Another important feature of T*SOL 2017 is the output of an energy label. T*SOL simulates the energy efficiency of heating systems supported by solar thermal energy and generates the energy label for direct output to a printer. This means, for example, that heating installers are able to create such a label for each individually built system.
T*SOL 2017 is therefore an indispensable tool for the accurate and reliable design of combined heating systems with solar support.
A 30-day trial is available: www.valentin-software.com/en/products.
News item from Valentin Software