Overview
You’re looking for a simulation program to efficiently design and optimize solar thermal systems? Then look no further than T*SOL® Pro.
The program particularly supports engineers, planners, and installers working in the field of heating technology and building services. The standard version alone offers over 60 preconfigured systems for hot water supply, process heating, and solar space heating. In addition, you can plan over 10 systems with two collector arrays.
To create a variant, you must enter the required parameters and select a suggested system / company system. On the basis of this, T*SOL® Pro can work out the design of the collector array and tank.
Use T*SOL® Pro to optimally configure your solar thermal systems!
System Requirements
T*SOL Pro englisch
- Internet Access
- Processor: 1,5 GHz Pentium PC
- Memory: 512 MB
- Hard Disk Drive: 700 MB
- Monitor Resolution: at least 1.024 x 768 pixel
- Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 3), Windows Vista, Windows 7
- Graphics: 64MB
- Other: Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 (Service Pack 1)
Program Details
The system simulation uses varying time steps of between one and six minutes. During the simulation, the temperatures in the system can be displayed in color. The dynamic behavior of the system can therefore be shown in a summarized form. You can save the results such as temperatures, energies, efficiencies, and solar fraction in a file and access them at any time for evaluation.
Air collector systems are a completely new group of system types, including the necessary building and ventilation parameters. The air collector systems were produced in collaboration with Grammar Solar.
With the building model for air collector systems you are able to recognize the connections between building parts and system technology, and simulate the building dynamics and ventilation losses. The building capacity is calculated from the data on the building geometry, insulation and construction.
T*SOL® Pro offers an economic efficiency calculation in conformity with VDI 2067. On a separate print-out, you are given a clearly-structured presentation of the cost of solar energy and the dynamic pay-back time, taking subsidies into consideration.
The integrated MeteoSyn tool provides you with climate data records from 8,000 weather stations around the world and can interpolate climate data for any location from them.
T*SOL® Pro offers you a database with over 1,400 flat-plate and evacuated tube collectors. Individual collectors can be freely simulated by entering the conversion factor, specific heat capacity, heat transfer coefficient, and incident angle modifier. A special feature is the simulation of evacuated tube collectors with or without reflectors.
An open-air or indoor swimming pool can be incorporated in the solar cycle. The swimming pool module contains eleven different preconfigured systems.
The use of large solar buffer tanks, external heat exchangers, and anti-Legionnaire's switches is possible with the large-scale systems module .
T*SOL® Pro presents the results of the system calculation in a range of graphics, which can then be printed out. A simple project report summarizes the following results:
- Energy balance
- Efficiency and solar fraction
- Saved fuel
- CO2 emissions cut
You are also provided with a detailed project report.
Solar Thermal
In T*SOL you can select from a number of systems, including company systems. Systems with and without space heating are available. Further systems are included in the additional program modules for swimming pool, large-scale systems and district heating (only available in T*SOL Expert). It is not possible to create user-defined systems in addition to the systems included in T*SOL.
First you need to open the dialog for the right collector type in the menu "Database" - "Components" - "Collectors". In the dialog, click on “Select” and choose a collector to use as a basis to create a new collector. Enter all of the data required, as per the datasheet or test report, overwriting the existing data. Make sure that you enter a new reference for the collector type, so that you can distinguish it from other collectors, and then save your entries with a click on “Save”.
You have now added a new collector to the T*SOL database. You can amend your entries as follows: select the collector to be changed – overwrite the data – save changes with a click on “Save”.
In T * SOL 5.0 you open the collector database by choosing "Database" - "Components" - "Collectors". Select any collector as a template and click on the "Edit Collector" button. After creating a copy, you can now edit the collector data and "Save" your changes.
It might be due to the model change in respect of the calculation of heat gains, particularly for the irradiation onto the window areas facing north. In T*SOL 4.5 the percentage of diffuse solar radiation onto the north side is taken into account more strongly. This means that changes in the heat requirement occur and therefore also in the results.
For systems with hot water and heating support (except swimming pool systems) the solar fractions for DHW and heating are only shown separately in the project report or detailed project report if a division in energy values for DHW and heating is possible. As soon as secondary circulation is included in the system, this is only still the case for System A5.2. In addition to the value for the total solar fraction, the solar fractions for DHW and heating can be included in the results for the following T*SOL systems: A3, A3.1, A3.2, A4, A4.1, A5 and A5.2. Separate solar fraction values cannot be shown for the following systems: A5 with circulation, A5.4, A5.5, A6, A12, company-specific combination systems, Buderus SAT systems, Paradigma systems and C4. If separate values are not possible, only the total solar fraction will be shown.
These systems are no longer required because it is now possible to have either one or two collector arrays with systems A1.x, A2.x, A5.x, A 10, A 12 and A 16. Please open the variant dialog by using "System Definition" - "Variant" (in T*SOL Expert and T*SOL Pro 4.5 "Parameters " - "Variant"). Click on the “Components” tab and select the “Two Collector Loops” option.
Yes, this is possible for the systems A1.x, A2.x, A5.x, A 10, A 12 and A 16. Please open the variant dialog by using "System Definition" - "Variant" (in T*SOL Expert and T*SOL Pro 4.5 "Parameters " - "Variant"). Click on the “Components” tab and select the “Two Collector Loops” option. You can now size both collector loops separately.
The fuel saving is the energetic saving divided by the fuel heating value Hi (lower heating value) or Hs (higher heating value), depending on which of these values has been set for the boiler (auxiliary heating) efficiency. The energetic saving is not the same as the amount of energy transferred to the system (e.g. to the storage tank), but is calculated for each step of the simulation from solar energy in relation to the boiler efficiency. (NB: If the solar system would not be present, the boiler would have to deliver the calculated amount of solar energy at the corresponding efficiency.) The boiler efficiency values are given in the boiler dialog. If you carry out a calculation without space heating the software uses the efficiency for domestic hot water supply.
The help facility in the programme has the following definition for fuel savings: The available solar energy is converted, using the respective auxiliary heating efficiency, to give the corresponding primary energy equivalent.
The Microsoft .Net Framework is missing. At least version 2.0 Service Pack 1 is required to use T*SOL Pro 5.0. You can use the Windows update function to install the latest .Net Framework version for your Windows. During the update procedure you have to select it in the optional updates section. Alternatively, you can use the following link to download the Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 SP1 and then install it:
It could be that the program has a problem to read the TSOL Pro.ini or TSOL Expert.ini file properly.
Please try the following steps:
1. Close the program
2. Depending on your operating system you will find the TSOL Pro.ini or TSOL Expert.ini in the following folder:
- Windows XP: C:\documents and settings\<USER>\personal folder\Valentin EnergieSoftware\TSOL...
- Windows Vista / Windows 7: C:\Users\<USER>\Documents\Valentin EnergieSoftware\TSOL...
3. Delete the TSOL Pro.ini or TSOL Expert.ini and restart the program. It initializes new and creates a new *.ini file.
Program Screenshots
