ANALYSIS OF A FLAT PLATE SOLAR COLLECTOR

Abstract

Abstract— In the solar-energy industry great emphasis has been placed on the development of "active" solar energy systems which involve the integration of several subsystems: solar energy collectors, heat-storage containers, heat exchangers, fluid transport and distribution systems, and control systems. The major component unique in active systems is the solar collector. This device absorbs the incoming solar radiation, converting it into heat at the absorbing surface, and transfers this heat to a fluid (usually air or water) flowing through the collector. The warmed fluid carries the heat either directly to the hot water or space conditioning equipment or to a storage subsystem from which it can be drawn for use at night and on cloudy days. The thermal analysis of a solar flat plate collector is quite complicated because of the many factors involved. Efforts have been made to combine a number of the most important factors into a single equation and thus formulate a mathematical model which will describe the thermal performance of the collector in a computationally efficient manner.