Assessment of Historical R&M Data for SDHW Systems

This paper consolidates relevant reliability and maintainability (R&M) information based on documented findings from field installations. Data from government sponsored demonstration projects, utilities, private consultants, and owner surveys are included. Failure rates and problem frequencies are emphasized rather than guidelines and experiences, which have been compiled elsewhere. R&M issuesconcerning solar energy systems, subsystems, and components are reviewed, The information presented is based upon 20 applicable R&M studies, Whenever possible, analogous data from the various studies are compared and combined to give a clearer, more complete representation of pertinent R&M issues.