Solar Radiation Collectors

1. INTRODUCTION
Solar collectors are heat exchangers
that use solar radiation to heat a
working fluid, usually liquid or air.
They can be classified in three groups:
- Flat-plate collectors,
- Evacuated-tube collectors
- Focusing collectors.

Fixed Vs Tracking
A tracking collectors are controlled to follow the sun throughout
the day.
A tacking system is rather complicated and generally only used
for special high-temperature applications.
Fixed collectors are much simpler - their position or orientation,
however, may be adjusted on a seasonal basis. They remain fixed
over a days time
Fixed collector are less efficient than tracking collectors ;
nevertheless they are generally preferred as they are less costly to
buy and maintain.

In flat-plate collectors there is no optical concentration

of sunlight and they are generally stationary. In addition
to this their outlet temperature capability is below 100 C

However to reach higher temparatures evacuated-tube

collectors and focusing collectors are used.

In evacuated-tube
collectors they use vacuun to reduce heat lost and to
protect the absorber coating from deteration.By this way
they can reach temperatures up to 140 C and they can
collect both direct and diffuse solar radiation

And focusing collectors, they are not stable and they

follow the sun to get direct radiation; theycan not utilize
diffuse radiation. And they are also capable of producing
high temperatures.

Flat-plate and Concentrating

Concentrating collectors uses mirrored

surfaces or lenses to focus the collected solar
energy on smaller areas to obtain higher
working temperatures.

Flat-plate collectors may be used for water

heating and most space-heating applications.

Flat Plate Solar Collector

A flat plate collector is basically a black surface

that is placed at a convenient path of the sun.
And a typical flat plate collector is a metal box
with a glass or plastic cover (called glazing) on
top and a dark-colored absorber plate on the
bottom. The sides and bottom of the collector are

Flat Plate Solar Collector

Incident Solar Radiation ( G t )
Outer Glass
Cover
Inner Glass
Cover
Insulation Fluid Flow
Tubes

Absorber
Plate

Flat Plate Collector

Consists of an absorber plate, cover glass,

insulation and housing.

Flat Plate Solar Collectors

components
absorber plate is usually made of copper
The
& steel or plastic. To increase the absorption

Incident Solar Radiation ( G t )

Outer Glass
Cover

Inner Glass
Cover

Insulation Fluid Flow Absorber

Tubes
Plate

Flat Plate Collector

of solar radiation, the surface is covered with

a flat black material of high absorptance and
minimizes the radiation emitted by plate.
The cover glass or glasses are used to
reduce convection and re-radiation losses
from the absorber.
Insulation is used on the back edges of the
absorber plate to reduce conduction heat
losses (material such as fiberglass)
The housing holds the absorber with
insulation on the back and edges, and cover
plates.
Enclosure: A box that the collector is
enclosed in holds the components together,
protect them from weather, facilitates
installation of the collector on a roof or
appropriate frame
The working fluid (water, ethylene glycol, air
etc.) is circulated in a serpentine fashion
through the absorber plate & carry the solar
energy to its point of use.

Cross section of a basic flat-plate solar

collector

A view of flat plate collector

Flat Plate Collector

Flat Plate Collector
components:
Plate with tubing
Insulation
Glazing

Characteristics of Flat Plate

Collector

Used for moderate temperature up to 100 C

Uses both direct and diffuse radiation

Normally do not need tracking of sun

Use: water heating, building heating and airconditioning, industrial process heating.

Absorber plate & Flow passages

Copper, which has high conductivity and is

corrosion-resistant, is the material for absorber
plates, but because copper is expensive, steel is
also widely used. For a copper plate 0.05 cm thick
with 1.25-cm tubes spaced 15 cm apart in good
thermal contact with the copper, the fin efficiency
is better than 97 percent.

The surface of the absorber plate determines how

much of the incident solar radiation is absorbed
and how much is emitted at a given temperature.
Flat black paint which is widely used as a coating
has an absorptance of about 95 percent for
incident shortwave solar radiation. It is durable
and easy to apply .

Characteristics of Absorptive coatings

Material

Absorptance Emittance

()

( )

Break down
Comments
temparature (C)

Black silicon
paint

0.86-0.94

0.83-0.89

350

Slicone binder

Black copper
over copper

0.85-0.9

0.08-0.12

450

Black chrome
over nickel

0.92-0.94

0.07-0.12

450

Stable at high
temperatures

Cross section of a absorber plate & flow passages of a flat plate collector

Cover plates

A cover plate for a collector should have a high

transmittance for solar radiation and should not detoriate
with time. The material most commonly used is glass. A
0.32-cm thick sheet of window glass (iron content, 0.12
percent ) transmits 85 percent of solar energy at normal
incidence. And all glass is practically opaque to longwavelength radiation emitted by the absorber plate.

Some plastic materials can be used for collector glazing.

They are cheaper and lighter than glass and, because they
can be used in very thin sheets, they often have higher
transmittance. However, they are not as durable as glass
and they often degrade with exposure to ultraviolet
radiation or high temperatures.

Test

Polyvinly
floride

Polyethylene
terephthatalet or
polyster

Polycarbonate

Fiberglass
resin forced
plastics

Solar
Transmission, %

92-94

85

82-89

77-90

Maximum
operating
temperature C

110

100

120-135

95

Thermal
Expansion
Coefficient

43

27

68

32-40

Thickness, mm

0.1

0.025

3.2

1.0

Length of life,
years

In 5 years
95% retains

7-20

Characteristics of cover plate materials

Enclosure / Insulation
The collector enclosure is usually made from steel, aliminium or
fiber glass. And order to prevent heat from escaping through
the back of the collector, a layer of insulation is placed behind
the absorber plate.

Density Kg/m3

Thermal
conductivity at
95 C (W/mK)

Temperature
limits C

11

0.059

175

16

0.050

175

24

0.045

175

48

0.43

175

Material

Fiber glass with

organic binder

Characteristics of insulation

Cross Section of an Insulation Part of a Flat-Plate Collector

PROPER ORIENTATION & ANGLE OF

SOLAR COLLECTOR
Flat plate collectorts are divided in three
main groups according to how they are
oriented:

Flat-plate collectors facing south at

fixed tilt
One-axis tracking flat-plate collectors
with axis oriented north-south
Two-axis tracking flat-plate collectors

Flat-plate collectors facing south

at fixed tilt :
To optimize performance in the winter, the collector
can be tilted 15 greater than the latitude; to optimize
performance in the summer, the collector can be tilted
15 less than the latitude.

Flat-plate collector at fixed tilt

One-axis tracking flat-plate

collectors with axis oriented
north-south:
These trackers pivot on their single axis to track

the sun, facing east in the morning and west in the

afternoon.

Flat-plate collector one axis tracking

Two-axis tracking flat-plate

collectors:
Tracking the sun in both azimuth and elevation,
these collectors keep the sun's rays normal to the
collector surface.

Flat-plate collector with two axis tracking

Collector Performance

The temperature of the working fluid in a flatplate collector may range from 30 to 90oC,
depending on the type of collector and the
application.

The amount of solar irradiation reaching the

top of the outside glazing will depend on the
location, orientation, and the tilt of the
collector.

Temperature of the absorber plate varies

along the plate with peak at the mid section

Absorbed heat diffuses along the length

towards the tube with and transferred to the
circulating fluid.

Collector Performance

The collector efficiency of flat-plate

collectors varies with design orientation,
time of day, and the temperature of the
working fluid.

The amount of useful energy collected will

also depend on
- The optical properties (transmissivity
and reflectivity) of cover glasses
- The properties of the absorber plate
(absorptivity and emissivity) and
- Losses by conduction, convection and
radiation.

Incident Solar Radiation ( G t )

Outer Glass
Cover
Inner Glass
Cover
Insulation Fluid Flow Absorber
Tubes
Plate

Flat Plate Collector

Energy diagram of typical flat plate collector is shown below. 92%

of the total sunshine reaches to the copper absorber. 8% of the

total sunshine is reflected from glass. 5% of the sunshine is emitted
from the panel, 12% is lost through convection and conduction.

Energy diagram for typical flat plate collector

COLLECTOR
PERFORMANCE
The thermal performance of a collector can be calculated
from a first-law energy balance. according to the first law
of thermodynamics, for a simple flat-plate collector an
instantaneous steady-state energy balance is:
Useful energy gain (QU) =
surroundings
by the collector

Energy absorbed

Absorbed Energy = AC FR S
Ta)

QU = A

FR S

Heat loss to

Lost Energy = AC FR UL (Ti-

AC FR UL (Ti-Ta)

..(1)

(It is useful gain energy equation)

where:
AC = Collector area, m2 ;
FR = Heat removal factor, unit less
S = Absorbed solar radiation, J/m2 ; UL = Heat transfer loss coefficient,
J/m2C

Ti

= Mean absorber plate temp. C ;

Ta = Ambient temperature, C.

Absorbed radiation (S):

In equation (1) S is absorbed radiation and it is equal
to:
1 cos
1 cos
S I b Rb b I d d
g I b I d g

2
2

(2)
(1 cos / 2), (1 cos / 2)

In equation (2)
are
the view factors from the collector to the sky and
from the collector to the ground, respectively.
The subscripts
and g represent beam, diffuse,
b,d,

and ground respectively.

is transmittance
and absorptance product. Rb is the ratio of beam
radiation on the tilted surface to that on a
horizantal surface at any time.

Collector heat removal factor (FR):

In equation (1) FR is collector heat removal factor ; a
quantity that relates the actual useful energy gain of
a collector to the useful gain if the whole collector
surfaces were at the fluid inlet temperature. And it is
given by equation (3).

where:
m = Fluid mass flow rate, kg/s
Cp = Fluid specific heat, J/kg C

The maximum possible useful energy gain (heat

transfer) in a solar collector occurs when the all
whole collector is at the inlet fluid temperature; heat
losses to the surroudings are than at a minimum .

Overall heat loss coefficient (UL):

In equation (1) UL is the collector overall
loss coefficient and it is equal to the sum
of the top, bottom and edge loss
coefficients.
UL=Utop+Ubottom+Uedge,
W/mK
.(4)

COLLECTOR EFFICIENCY
The basic method of measuring collector
performance is to expose the operating
collector to solar radiation and measure the
fluid inlet and outlet temperatures and the
fluid flow rate. The useful gain is :

QU m C P (T0 Ti )
where:
m = Fluid mass flow rate, kg/s
Cp = Fluid specific heat, J/kgC

The thermal performance of a collector

operating under steady conditions, can be
rewritten as :

Qu Ac FR I T U L Ti Ta

where
is a transmittance-absorptance
product that is weighted according to the
proportions of beam, diffuse, and ground
reflected radiation (total incident radiation, IT)
on the collector.

And finally:
Instantaneous efficiency can be defined as:

Qu
FRU L Ti Ta
ni
FR
Ac I T
GT
That is;

ni

m' C p T0 Ti
Ac I T

Efficiency vs. Temperature

Differential

To improve the performance of solar

collector it is necesssary Either to
reduce the overall energy loss coefficient
or reduce area from which energy is lost.
The maximum
possible useful energy
gain (heat transfer) in a solar collector
occurs when The whole collector is at
the inlet fluid temperature; heat losses to
the surroundings are then at a minimum.

FLATE PLATE
COLLECTOR
APPLICATIONS

Applications

Water Heating (for domestic use and for swimming

pools)

Space Heating (Heating & Cooling of buildings)

Crop Drying

Food Cooking

Solar Distillation

Electricity generation

solar water heater

Laboratory model

Multi-residential
application

Flat plate collectors used for heating buildings

Flat-plate collectors used for heating swimming pools

Solar Pool Heater

Working of low temperature Electricity Generation

CONCLUSION

Flat-plate collectors which are used for water heating, are

long lasting, and also in long term they are cheaper than
other water heating systems. However,they requires large
areas if high energy output is a requirement.

Than solar energy is free if we do not include the initial

cost for installation and the maintenance.

Finally, besides these we should remember by using solar

energy we can protect nature.