UNIT-II
A TYP
ICAL FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR
Sunlight passes through the glazing(MADE OF PLASTIC OR GLASS)
and strikes the absorber plate, which heats up, changing solar energy
into heat energy.
The heat is transferred to liquid passing through pipes attached to the
absorber plate. Absorber plates are commonly painted with "selective
coatings," which absorb and retain heat better than ordinary black
paint. These copper pipes are bonded, soldered or brazed directly to
the absorber plate to ensure maximum surface contact and heat
transfer.
Absorber plates are usually made of metal—typically copper or
aluminum—because the metal is a good heat conductor. Copper is
more expensive, but is a better conductor and less prone to corrosion
than aluminum.
Sunlight heats the absorbing surface which increases in temperature. As the
plate gets hotter this heat is conducted through the risers and absorbed by the
fluid flowing inside the copper pipes which is then used by the household.
The pipes and absorber plate are enclosed in an insulated metal or wooden box
with a sheet of glazing material, either glass or plastic on the front to protect the
enclosed absorber plate and create an insulating air space.
This glazing material does not absorb the suns thermal energy to any
significant extent and therefore most of the incoming radiation is received
by the blackened absorber.
The air gap between the plate and glazing material traps this heat preventing it
from escaping back into the atmosphere.
As the absorber plate warms up, it transfers heat to the fluid within the collector
but it also loses heat to its surroundings. To minimize this loss of heat, the
bottom and sides of a flat plate collector are insulated with high temperature rigid
foam or aluminium foil insulation as shown.
Losses in flat plate collectors
1.Flat Plate Collector (FPC) is widely used for domestic hot-
water, space heating/drying and for applications requiring fluid
temperature less than 100o C.
2.The flow can takes place due to thermosyphon effect or by
forced convection
3. certain energy absorbed by the plate is lost to atmosphere
due to higher temperature of the plate.
4. The collector efficiency is dependent on the temperature of
the plate which in turn is dependent on the nature of flow of
fluid inside the tube, solar insolation, ambient temperature, top
loss coefficient, the emissivity of the plate and glass cover,
slope, etc.
5. The emissivity of the selective coated plate is usually around
0.1 and that of glass cover lies between 0.85 - 0.88.
6.The major heat loss in the collector is from the top through
the glass cover compared to bottom and side losses.
7. The top loss coefficient from the collector is evaluated by
considering both convection and radiation from the absorber
plate to ambient.
8. The overall top heat loss coefficient is a function of various
parameters which include the temperature of the absorber
plate, glass cover and ambient, emissivity of absorber and glass
cover, spacing between the absorber and glass cover L, tilt
angle of the collector β , number of glass covers, etc
given by
The thermal resistance circuit of the flat plate collector for
single glass cover is shown in Figure-1.
To investigate the heat loss coefficient of a closed loop thermosyphon
system, indoor tests were performed under different operating
conditions under natural and forced circulation.
The top loss coefficients obtained under laboratory conditions can be
extended to estimate under actual operating conditions.
The usual nine-fin tube array in a conventional FPC is replaced with a
prototype assembly of one-third size of actual FPC i.e. 300 x 600 mm 2
area having 3 fins of 600 mm length with inlet and outlet headers.
Glass wool insulation is provided at the bottom of the absorber tubes.
The fin tube assembly consists of a copper tubes of 12 mm dia of
thickness 18 SWG forming part of the conventional FPC fin tube array.
Assuming one-dimensional heat flow
Under steady state conditions, the heat loss from the absorber
plate to the glass cover is given by Ql=U A ∆Tt p
U, is the heat loss coefficient due to both convection and
radiation
Ut overall top loss coefficient is calculated at different tilt angles β and
Ra.
The convective heat transfer coefficient between the absorber plate
and glass cover is calculated from the Nusselt number
From the Nusselt number the overall top loss coefficient U t is
calculated at different tilt angles β and Ra
Tp-glass temperature along with theoretical predictions
CONCLUSION:
1.As the emissivity of absorber plate εP increases, the top loss
coefficient also increases.
2.The efficiency is found to increase with increase in ambient
temperature due to reduction in heat loss from the system.
3.increase in εP is to dissipate more heat to atmosphere and
consequent reduction in efficiency of the system.
4.As the wind loss coefficient increases, more amount of heat is
dissipated to atmosphere and consequently lower efficiency can be
expected.
5. no significant effect of tilt angle on the top loss coefficient.
6.It can be concluded that the emissivity of the absorber plate has a
significant impact on the top loss coefficient and consequently on the
efficiency of the Flat plate collector.
7.The efficiency of FPC is found to increase with increasing ambient
temperature. There is no significant impact of tilt angle on the top loss
coefficient.
Transmissivity of the Cover System on
Flat Plate Collectors
Posted On : 22.05.2017 05:43 pm
The transmissivity of the cover system of a collector can be obtained with adequate accuracy by
considering reflection – refraction and absorption separately and is given by the product form,
Transmissivity of the Cover System
The transmissivity of the cover system of a collector can be obtained with
adequate accuracy by considering reflection – refraction and absorption
separately and is given by the product form,
re
Transmissivity based on reflection – refraction
When a beam of light of intensity Ibn travelling through a transparent medium 1
strikes the interface separating it from another transparent medium 2. It is
reflected and refracted as shown in Fig.4.19. The reflected beam has a reduced
intensity Ir and has a direction such that the angle of reflection is equal to the
angle of incidence. On the other hand, the directions of the incident and refracted
beams are related to each other by Snell’s Law which states that,
Transmissivity based on Absorption
The Transmissivity based on absorption can be obtained by assuming that the
absorption is proportional to the local intensity (Bouger’s law) . Consider a beam
of intensity ‘Ibn’ incident normally on a transparent cover of thickness ‘δ c’ and
emerging with an intensity ‘Il’ as shown in Fig.4.21.
Where, K is a constant of proportionality and is called the extinction coefficient. It
will be assumed to have a value independent of wavelength. Integrating over the
length traversed by the beam, we have
In case the beam is incident at an angle 1, the path traversed through the cover
would be (δc/cos2), where 2 is the angle of refraction. Then Equ. (4.69) gets
modified to the form,
The extinction coefficient K is a property of the cover material. Its value varies
from about 4 to 25cm-1 for different qualities of glass. A low value is obviously
desirable.
Equ.(4.69) and Equ.(4.70) are derived for one cover. If there are ‘M’ covers the
exponent in these equations would be multiplied by ‘M’.
Transmissivity for Diffuse Radiation
The preceding considerations apply only to beam radiation. Calculation of the
transmissivity of a cover system when diffuse radiation is incident on it presents
some difficulty; because the radiation comes from many directions. The usual
practice is to assume that the diffuse radiation is equivalent to beam radiation
coming at an angle of incidence of 60 o. This angle is arrived at by considering the
variation of ‘’ as shown in ig.4.22, and by assuming that the amount of diffuse
radiation coming from all directions is the same.
Parameters affecting the collectors performance
The collector performance is described by the equation for the power
output q:
q = A*(n0*G - a1*dT - a2*dT²) [W]
with the operation conditions:
G : Solar irradiance on collector plane [W/m²]
dT: Temperature difference between collector mean fluid temperature
and ambient air temperature [K] (Kelvin)
and the collector performance parameters:
n0
: Optical efficiency
o Combined efficiency of the transparent cover and the absorber [-]
a1
: 1st order heat loss coefficient
o Heat loss cofficient at collector fluid temperature equal to ambient
temperature [W/K]
a2
: 2nd order heat loss coefficient
o Temperature dependent term of heat loss coefficient [W/K²]
o The heat loss coefficient of a collector depends on the temperature.
High values of a2
indicates large temperature influence
o The higher the value of a2
the more "hookednosed" the power/efficiency curve)
and the collector area:
A: Collector area corresponding to the performance parameters
o Two sets of performance parameters are determined according to
European Standard EN12975-2 - one set corresponding to the
absorber area and one set corresponding to the aperture area. It is
important to use corresponding area / parameters. Normally the
aperture area is used, which is: The area through which the solar
radiation enters the solar collector
Typical Flat Plate Collector
Direct and Indirect Hot Water Systems
direct or indirect systems by the way in which they transfer the heat around the
system.
1. a solar collector to capture the heat and transfer it to the water
2. a hot water tank to store this hot water for use as needed.
Direct Hot Water System. OR Active open-loop system, uses a
pump to circulate the water around the system.
Indirect hot water system, OR passive open-loop systems
indirect hot water system, the system does not use pumps or control
mechanisms to transfer the heat created to the
storage tank. Instead, passive systems are what are called “open-loop systems”
which use the natural force of gravity to help circulate the water around the
system. This type of system uses a solar flat plate collector combined with a
horizontally mounted storage tank of some kind located immediately above the
collector.
The water heated by the sun rises naturally using convection through the solar
collectors pipes and enters the storage tank situated above. As the heated water
enters the storage tank above, the cooler water is forced out and flows down to
the bottom of the collectors aided by gravity as cold water is more dense than hot
water. This cycle of hot water rising and cooler water falling is known as a
“thermosyphon flow” and continuously repeats unaided while the sun is shining.
Thermosyphon Hot Water System
Indirect Hot Water System.
Indirect hot water systems, also known as closed-loop systems, differ from
the previous system in that it uses a heat exchanger that is separate from the
solar flat plate collector to heat the water in the storage tank. Indirect hot water
systems are active systems and require pumps to circulate the heat transfer
liquid around the closed-loop system from the collector to the heat exchanger in
the tank.
The system contains an antifreeze solution, typically a 50%
Glycol/water mixture, in the primary closed-loop instead of just water
which is heated and is kept separate from the main domestic hot water supply.
Indirect Hot Water System
The heat exchanger transfers the heat from the collector’s antifreeze solution to
the water located in the water storage tank. The heat exchanger can either be a
copper coil inside the lower part of the storage tank or a flat plate exchanger
outside the storage tank.
One of the main advantages to this closed loop indirect heating system is that the
antifreeze solution gives all year round operation in areas where the temperature
falls below the freezing point as well as protecting the system from corrosion of
the collectors by untreated tap water containing gases and various dissolved
salts.
The main advantage of a forced circulation indirect hot water system is that an
existing domestic water heating system can easily be converted to solar heating
of the water just by adding a flat plate collector and a single pump as most
homes use gas or oil fired boilers as well as a hot water storage tank with built-in
heat exchanger coil.
The system is also likely to be more efficient, and the hot water storage tank can
be placed anywhere in the home because it does not need to be higher than the
collectors as in the previous passive or thermosyphon system. One
disadvantage, however, is that the closed-loop system is dependent on electricity
for the circulating pump which may be expensive or unreliable. Some designs
use a small low voltage pump and photovoltaic panel along side the collector
making the system more efficient and greener. For larger installations and in
cooler climates the hot-water tanks are included below the roof within buildings,
so forced circulation indirect solar water heating is the norm.
Sizing a
ft) each.
While Flat Plate Collectors excel at collecting the solar power more effectively,
commercially available hot water collectors can sometimes be expensive. Simple
and cheaper flat plate panels can be made from old central heating radiators
painted black or even a coil of plastic hose or water pipe laid out on top of a roof
but the systems efficiency would be very low. Properly installed domestic solar
hot water systems are efficient and reliable. System configurations can from
simple thermosyphoning systems that rely on gravity to more complex forced
circulation systems that require pumps, controllers, and heat exchangers.
Although they have a higher initial cost than a conventional gas, oil and electric
water heaters, solar thermal will dramatically reduce fuel consumption and can
have a payback period of less than 10 years. There are several solar water
heater design types and plans that are currently manufactured by suppliers.
Which water heating systems and designs are suitable for your home or business
will largely depend on regional climate.
In the next tutorial about solar heating and solar hot water we will look at
another more efficient way of heating water to a much higher temperature using
small individual copper collectors vacuum sealed in a glass tube. These types of
collectors are commonly known as Evacuated Tube Collectors and are becoming
the preferred choice to the Flat Plate Collector.
The energy loss through the top is the result of convection and
radiation between parallel plates.
The collector efficiency is dependent on the temperature
of the plate which in turn is dependent on the
1.nature of flow of fluid inside the tube,
2.solar insolation,
3.ambient temperature,
4. top loss coefficient,
5.the emissivity of the plate and glass cover, slope, etc.
parabolic trough collector.
TYPES OF CONCENTRATING COLLECTORS
The different types of collector geometries are shown in figure 4.29.
1.It is simple in design, has a concentration ratio a little above unity and is useful
for giving temperatures about 20 C or 30 C higher than those obtained from a flat-
o o
plate alone.
2. Like the first type, this collector is also non-imaging. The concentration ration is
moderate and generally ranges from 3 to 10. The main advantage of the compound
parabolic collector is that it has a high acceptance angle and consequently requires
only occasional tracking.
3.The next type collector (figure 4.29(c)) is a cylindrical parabolic collector in
which the image is formed on the focal axis of the parabola. Many commercial
versions of this type are now available.
It has a fixed concentrator and a moving receiver. The concentrator is an array of
long, narrow, flat mirror strips fixed along the cylindrical surface. The strip
produce a narrow line image which follows a circular path as the sun moves. This
path is on the same circle on which the mirror strips are fixed. Thus, the receiver
has to be moved along the circular path in order to track the sun.
4.Concentration is also achieved by using lenses. The most commonly used device
is the Fresnel lens shown in figure 4.29(e). The one shown in the figure is a thin
sheet, flat on one side with fine longitude grooves on the other. The angles of these
grooves are such that radiation is brought to a line focus. The lens is usually
made of extruded acrylic plastic sheets. Line focussing collectors like
the one shown in figure 4.29(c,d,e). Usually have concentration rations
between 10 to 80 and yield temperature between 150 to 400.
5.In order to achieve higher concentration ratios and temperatures it becomes
necessary to have point focussing rather than line focussing. A sketch is shown in
figure4.29(f). Such collectors can have concentration ratios ranging from 100 to a
few thousand and have yielded temperatures upto 2000 . However, from the point
o
of view of the mechanical design, there are limitations to the size of the
concentrator and hence the amount of energy which can be collected by one dish.
Commercial versions have been built with dish diameter up to 17m. In order to
collect larger amounts of energy at one point, the central receiver concept has been
adopted. In this case, beam radiation is reflected from a number of independently
controlled mirrors called ‘Heliostats’ to a central receiver located at the top of a
tower.
“Rabl” has show that for a given acceptance angle (2a) the maximum possible
concentration ratio of a two-dimensional (line-focus) concentrator is
For a three dimensional (point - focus) concentrator, has shown that,
The half-angle subtended by the earth is 0.267 . Substituting this value in equation
o
4.104 and 4.105, we see that the maximum value of concentration ratio for a line-
focus concentration is 215 and for a point-focus concentrator, it is 46000. In actual
system, the values of concentration ratio are much lower, since the acceptance
angle needs to be greater than 0.267 for a number of reasons. These include
o
tracking errors, imperfections in the reflecting or refracting component of the
concentrator, mechanical misalignment between the concentrator and the receiver
et
Air collectors and types
What is meant by aircollector
The solar air collector is the one where it absorbs solar radiation and converts it
into thermal energy that heats up the air.
The medium inside the solar air collector is heated air that can be warmed
without any problems to (i.e.) 30°C even on the coldest winter days, if they are
sunny. Thus, the heated air is blown into the living or working space via a fan,
effectively reducing heating costs and improving the indoor climate in a nature-
friendly way.
Our microclimate is affected by light, temperature, humidity and air
quality/freshness.
Collector performance depends on Outside temperature, The length of
the collector (the longer the collector, the higher heating performance)
Interior temperature.
The color of the absorber (from 70°C to 85°C for colors - black 90°C)
The air throughput of the collector
Solar Air Heater Advantages
o The need to transfer heat from working fluids to
another fluid is eliminated as air is being used
directly as the working substance.
o The system is compact and less complicated.
o Corrosion is a great problem in solar water heater.
And this problem is not experienced in solar air
heaters.
o Leakage of air from the duct does not create any
problem.
o Freezing of working fluid virtually does not exist.
o The pressure inside the collector does not become
very high.
o Thus air heater can be designed using cheaper as
well as lesser amount of material and it is simpler
to use than the solar water heaters.
o factors like
o high efficiency,
o low fabrication cost,
o low installation and operational cost
o
Solar Air Heater -Disadvantages
o the poor heat transfer properties of air.
o need for handling large volume of air due to its low
density.
o Air cannot be used as a storage fluid because of its
low thermal capacity.
o In the absence of proper design the cost of solar air
heaters can be very high.
o
Application
Free ventilation
Free heating Drying of humid premises
Long service life and autonomy
Drying of crops, biomass, etc.
Solar thermal collector system based on evacuated glass tubes. Sunlight is absorbed by a
special material at the center of each tube that has a selective surface. The surface absorbs
sunlight nearly completely, and emits very little of the solar heat as thermal radiation. Ordinary
black surfaces are also efficient absorbers, but they emit thermal radiation copiously.
In solar thermal collectors, a selective
surface or selective absorber is a means of increasing its
operation temperature and/or efficiency.
The selectivity is defined as the ratio of solar radiation-
absorption (alpha) - to thermal infrared radiation-
emission (epsilon).
Selective surfaces take advantage of the differing wavelengths of
incident solar radiation and the emissive radiation from the
absorbing surface:
Solar radiation covers approximately the wavelengths 350 nm
to 4000 nm; UV-A, visible and near infrared (NIR - or IR-
A plus IR-B).
Thermal infrared radiation, from materials with temperatures
approximately in the interval -40 to 100 °C, covers
approximately the wavelengths 4000 nm to 40,000 nm = 4 um
to 40 um; The thermal infrared radiation interval being named
or covered by: MIR, LWIR or IR-C
Selective materials
Normally, a combination of materials is used. One of the first
selective surfaces investigated was simply copper with a layer of
black cupric oxide. Black chromium ("black chrome") nickel-
plated copper is another selective surface that is very durable,
highly resistant to humidity or oxidizing atmospheres and
extreme temperatures while being able to retain its selective
properties - but expensive. Another combination consists
of steel plated with gold, silicon, and silicon dioxide.
Although ordinary black paint has high solar absorption, it also
has high thermal emissivity, and thus it is not a selective surface.
Typical values for a selective surface might be 0.90 solar
absorption and 0.10 thermal emissivity. but can range from
0.8/0.3 for paints on metal to 0.96/0.05 for commercial surfaces -
and thermal emissivities as low as 0.02 have been obtained in
laboratories.
Other selective surfaces[edit]
There exists other selective surfaces that are not normally used
on solar thermal collector surfaces. E.g. low emissivity surfaces
used in window glasses, which reflect thermal radiation and has a
high transmittance factor (e.g. is transparent) to visible sunlight.
Solar Collector Efficiency Calculator
Solar heating collectors are offered in several types, including unglazed plastic
collectors, traditional glazed flat plate collectors, and evacuated tube collectors.
The efficiency of these collectors vary depending on the solar radiation, outside
temperature, and collector fluid temperature. This simple calculator will give you
an idea of the efficiency and output of a collector for the particular conditions you
want to use it in. It may be able to help you to make a decision on which type of
collector is best for your situation, or to change your system design for better
efficiency.
This calculator uses performance data from the SRCC collector certification testing
to calculate efficiency and output. The SRCC is an independent test organization
that certifies and measures the performance of collectors that manufactures
submit for testing. The SRCC publishes performance data for all the the collectors
it has certified here ... Since the SRCC tests all collectors in the same way their
data are a good base for comparisons.
Of course, efficiency is not the only important characteristic of a collector. Its
durability and price are also of great importance. A collector that is 5% more
efficient, but 30% more expensive than another is not a good deal. You can divide
the price per square foot by the heat output that the calculator gives to get an idea
of the best BTU for the buck.
For a better understanding of how collector performance varies for the various
types of collectors, and why, have a look here...
For some help with understanding how to use the material on the SRCC site, have
a look here ...
The Calculator Inputs:
These are the numbers you need to enter to get an efficiency calculation:
Intercept -- This is efficiency
value where the efficiency
curve cross the vertical axis
-- that is, when there is no
difference between the
collector temperature and
ambient temperature.
Slope -- This is the
downward slope of the
efficiency curve. It is the rate of drop in efficiency as outside temperature and
solar radiation drop.
These two parameters define the efficiency curve for the collector. You can
get these from the SRCC certification report for each collector. I have also
provided these values for several common example collectors of each type in
the calculator. Just click on the one you want.
For more information on the efficiency curve, what it depends on, and how its
determined, look here...
Ambient air temperature -- This is just the temperature of the air around the
collector -- i.e. the outside air temperature.
Collector Temperature -- This is the average temperature of the fluid going
through the collector. This would ideally be the average of the collector inlet
and outlet temperatures, but a good approximation would be to use what you
believe the storage tank temperature will be plus about 5F. You might want to
do the calculation for several storage tank temperatures, and see what the
effect is on efficiency. The difference between the collector temperature and
the ambient temperature is a major factor in determining the heat lost from the
collector to the outside, and therefore the efficiency of the collector.
Solar Intensity -- This is the intensity of the solar radiation striking the collector
measured in BTU per square foot of collector area per hour.
A typical sunny day value with the collector pointed at the sun would be about
300 BTU/ft^2-hr. Cloudy weather values vary considerably, but the SRCC
uses about 75% of the full sun value for "Mildly Cloudy", and about 50% of the
full sun value for "Cloudy Day".
During the early morning and late afternoon, the solar intensity that the
collector sees is less, because of the angle that the sun makes with the
collector face. For example, if the sun makes a 45 degree angle with the
collector face, the effective solar intensity is cut by 30% from the full sun
value.
The Calculator Outputs:
After filling in the inputs, click the "Calculate" button, and calculator will
calculate the two output values.
Efficiency -- The efficiency of the collector. That is, (Collector Heat Output /
Total Solar Input). The efficiency is calculated for the specific conditions you
entered. You will find that the efficiency varies greatly for different conditions.
The idea of the calculator is to give a feel for how the efficiency and output
vary as the collector and the system design are changed.
Output -- This is the heat output of the collector per square foot of collector
area per hour. This is the the output for the specific conditions you entered.
Note that this is not at all rocket science -- the actual calculation of efficiency
is one very short line -- this calculator is 99% fluff and 1% calculation. But, I
feel that a lot of people struggle with deciding which collector is going to do
best under a particular set of circumstances, and what effect a change in the
system design might have on efficiency. My hope is that this calculator helps
a little in making a good decision.
