The National University of Science and Technology (NUST), country partner in the SOLTRAIN 4 project in cooperation with AEE Intec, continued to support solar thermal uptake by conducting a Train-the-Trainer workshop at the Harare Institute of Technology in early February.
Among those trained were technicians, installers and artisans from the following organisations:
- Sunnex
- Impact Solar
- Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT),
- Harare Institute of Technology (HIT)
- Nhjizana investment
- Lower Nooks Enterprises P/L
- Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ)
- Hanseal Plumbering
- University of Zimbabwe (UZ)
- Ministry of Energy and Power Development
- Msasa Industrial Training Centre
There were three female and thirteen male participants, comprising a total of sixteen altogether. The facilitators for the training were Rudi Moschoeck (AEE Intec, Austria), Samson Mhlanga (NUST) and Blessed Sarema (NUST).
The training session focused on the following topics:
- Solar Heat Worldwide, an overview of the worldwide developments and applications
- The solar resource
- An overview of solar thermal collectors,
- Solar thermal system designs for pumped and thermosyphon to water systems,
- Performance of solar collectors
- Collector field hydraulics
- Flow conditions and pressure drop in parallel and serial collector connections,
- Pumped solar thermal systems
- System configuration
- Components
- Monitoring and energy savings based on systems monitored in SOLTRAIN 3
- Simulation software
- An introduction into Retscreen and TSOL
The training also included a 'how-to' on preparing an application for demonstration systems which are financially supported up to 50% by the SOLTRAIN project in two flagship districts within a 50km radius of Harare and Bulawayo, as well as a session where local companies could showcase their installations.
The training was concluded with a visit to the solar pumped system at the Harare Institute of Technology, and a visit to the solar trailer demonstrating a thermosyphon and pumped system at the University of Zimbabwe.
