Solar Thermal

Solar Energy Workshop

Colorado School of Mines

Presented by:
Daimon Vilppu,
President, Simply Efficient
Daimon@Simplyeff.com

What it all boils down to

Radiation
Conduction
Convection
Or, as I like to say;
Heat in/Heat out

Heat Transfer of the

collectors
Allow sunlight in (transmittance)
Dont allow sunlight out (emittance)
Absorb the sunlight (absorptance)
Transfer the sunlight energy to a fluid
running through the collector
(conductance and convection)
Lose as little heat as possible
(convection)

Solar Ovens

Solar Pool Heating

Collectors

Solar Hot Water and Heating

Flat Plate Collectors

Evacuated Tube Collectors

Evacuated Tube Collectors

Viessman Vitosol 300, Cut-away View

High Temperature (Concentrating

Systems), Industrial Power Generation, Hot
Water, Process Heat, System Owned By
Solucar.

Schott Solar Power Plant

Solucar Parabolic Trough Concentrating

Collector
The physical characteristics of the concentrator
modules are: Overall Module Size 7 ft. 6 in. x 20 ft.
(2.3m x 6.1 m)
Concentrator Weight 178 lb ( 81 kg)
Concentrator Rim Angle72
Materials of Construction: Aluminum Reflective
Surface
Options: Aluminum acrylic
Enhanced polished aluminumLightweight,
low maintenance concentratorReceiver
The receiver specifications are:
Absorber Tube Outside Diameter 2.0 inch (5.08 cm)
Absorber Material SteelSelective Surface
Blackened nickel
Absorptance 0.96 - 0.98
Emittance (80C) 0.15 - 0.25
Absorber Envelope Material Borosilicate glass
Envelope
Anti-Reflective Coating Sol gel
Transmittance 0.95 - 0.965
Maximum Operating Temperature 550F (288C)

Solar Radiation
Is Radiant energy from the sun
(electromagnetic radiation) produced
by a nuclear fusion reaction. Half of
this radiation is in the Visible
spectrum, the other half is mostly in
the near infra-red spectrum of light.

 Thermal systems use Diffuse and Direct Normal

Light
The National Solar Radiation Database gives us
TMY (typical meteorological year) radiation
data for cities across the US
A computer simulation (TRNSYS) uses that data
to give us the amount of radiation on a tilted
surface.

Denver, 45 degree, 20.89 MJ/m 2 day, which is Mega

Joules (106) per square meter for a day (1839 BTU/ft 2
day)
SRCC (Solar Rating and Certification Center)

Joule is the SI standard unit of energy

(equivalent to a BTU)
A Watt is Power in the SI units system.
Also know as a Joule/Sec (BTU/hr)

Solar Thermal Collectors

Collect the suns radiation and transfer
that to a fluid as it runs through them.
Water, Propylene Glycol, Oil, Air
High Temperature (Concentrating
Systems), Industrial Power Generation
Medium Temperature (Evacuated
Tubes)
Residential and Commercial

Low Temperature (Flat plates)

Unglazed (Pool Panels)

Energy Storage

WATER

Why Water?
Specific Heat is the amount of energy required

to raise 1 gram of a material by one degree

Kelvin.
Water has a Constant Pressure specific heat of
4.183 J/g*K, Air= 1 J/g*K, Hydrogen= 14,
Concrete= 0.88
It is a measure of how much energy you can
store in a mass of a material
Water is frequently used because it is relatively
cheap, abundant and holds more energy than
most materials

How Much Water?

Q=MCp(T2-T1)
Q=energy
Cp=Specific Heat
T2=Final Temperature
T1=Initial Temperature
IF we had 2200 Kg of water ( approx.
120 gallons)
And we wanted to raise its temperature
39 Kelvin (approx. 70 F)

We would need how much energy?

Q=(454 Kg)x(4.183 J/g*K)x(39K)
Q= 74 MJ (Mega-Joules)

How many flat plate collectors would

we need to do this in one day?
A typical flat plate panel can collect
on a cool clear day about 34
MJ/m2*day
Energy needed = 74 MJ
74 MJ/ (24 MJ/m2*day)=
3 m2
A 4x8 Collector is approx. 3 m2

The rest of the equation

For a system in Denver, I would recommend
two 4x8 panels.

For a family of 3-4

Solar Fraction, The amount of energy provided by
the solar system divided by the amount of energy
needed (or used).
Modeling shows a 51% solar fraction for one panel
and an 81% solar fraction for two panels (using
Retscreen, available free online), a 70% solar
fraction is considered best.
What we havent considered
Thermal losses

In the pipes to and from the collector

In the heat exchange between the collectors and the solar
storage tank
In the heat lost from the solar storage tank to the surroundings
In the energy used up to pump the fluid through the collectors

Economics
That system would cost from $8-10,000
Would save about $500/year of

electricity Which gives a best case

simple payback of 16-20 years for
electricity.
This does not include; the tax federal
tax credit, any increase in electricity,
appreciation of the home or reduction of
greenhouse gasses

Thanks!
I will be happy to answer questions
Daimon Vilppu
Daimon@Simplyeff.com
303-898-9951
www.simplyeff.com