Dr. Nguyen The Bao

Hochiminh University of Technology, Vietnam.

1. INTRODUCTION

Vietnam is a tropical country, stretching from Latitude 60 N to 230 N. Its land area is around 320,000 km2 and its population is about 78 million, of which 80 % are living in villages in remote rural and mountainous areas.

Due to the complex topography, climate factors, including solar radiation levels, vary significantly from region to region. The annual average daily global radiation values increase from 12 MJ/m2 for northern locations up to 19 MJ/m2 for some southern locations, with the annual average daily sunshine hours varying from 4 to 8, respectively. Figures 1 and 2 show the monthly average daily solar radiation and sunshine hours for 3 locations across the country They are: Lang (210 N); Danang (160 N) and Hochiminh City (10.80 N), and they represent the three general climatic regions in Vietnam [1].

On the basis of these data, Vietnam can be considered as a country having good solar resources and consequently good possibilities for solar energy applications. However, no systematic analysis has been conducted into the application of these technologies in Vietnam. This work will hopefully be one of the first steps in systematically and rigorously researching the feasibility of the application of solar hot water ( SHW ). This work will also assist in assessing the potential of the SHW market in this country for local as well as foreign investors.

Figure 2. Monthly Average Daily Sunshine Hours for three representative locations in

Vietnam