The feasibility of polymer heat exchangers for solar water heaters is examined in terms of thermal performance and cost of tube-in-shell and immersed designs. High temperature nylon and cross-linked polyethylene were identified as suitable polymers for this application. These materials can meet the high temperature and pressure requirements of a domestic potable hot water system. The heat exchanger designs are compared for heat transfer area required to provide 3,000 and 6,000 W. A nylon tube-in-shell heat exchanger, sized for a 3,000 W load, is approximately 80% of the cost of a copper tube-in-shell heat exchanger. For an immersed heat exchanger, a high temperature nylon tube bank design has the lowest cost. The nylon tube bank heat exchanger, sized for a 3,000 W load, is approximately 80% the cost of an immersed coiled copper tube heat exchanger.
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(23.036 .093 25.536)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(45.87 1.273 16.18)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(69.945 .996 12.078)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(20.66 -19.689 31.932)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
