Solar Thermal Systems 18, 19

Solar Energy Systems
Applications
• Water heating
• Heating and cooling of buildings
• Air dryer for crops
• Solar desalination
• Heat engines for power
Introduction
• Passive Solar Energy System: the insolation is absorbed and utilised without
significant mechanical pumping and blowing,
• Active Solar Energy System: If the solar heat is collected in a fluid, usually water
or air, which is then moved by pumps or fans for use.
• The main part of a solar heating system is the collector, where solar radiation is
absorbed, and energy is transferred to the fluid.
• Non focusing collector: Flat plate, Evacuated collectors: Preferred for less than about 80 °C,
absorb both beam and diffused radiation
• Focusing collectors: Solar concentrator: absorb both beam radiation
Flat plate collector: Heat balance
•
Heat in Heat loss

Overall heat loss coefficient
From the equation, the efficiency of solar water heating depends

on parameters related to transmission, reflection and absorption
of solar radiation, and parameters related to the retention and
movement of heat
•
T1 is the temperature of the fluid as it enters the collector and T2 as it leaves the collector
Efficiency of a flat plate collector
A collector of area Ap exposed to irradiance G (measured in the plane of
the collector) gives
If plate temp will be
higher heat loss will be
higher
collector efficiency
The performance of a flat plate collector, and in particular its efficiency at high
temperatures, can be substantially improved by
• Reducing the convective transfer between the plate and the outer glass cover by
inserting an extra glass cover
• Reducing the radiative loss

from the plate by making its
surface not simply black but
selective, i.e. strongly
absorbing but weakly emitting
Evacuated collectors
• Vacuum in between collector surface and glass to minimize
the convective losses: temperatures around or greater than
100°C
• Inner tube containing either the potable water to be heated

directly or another heat transfer fluid
• Both tubes are usually made of glass since glass holds a

vacuum better and transparent to solar short-wave
radiation but not to thermal radiation (long-wave)
• Array of these tubes, collectors may receive both direct and

diffuse solar radiation
Systems with separate storage
• For domestic systems, tanks with a volume of about 100–200 liters can store a day’s
supply of hot water.
• Pump used with a pumping rate, so the water temperature increases by about 5–10 °C
in passing through the collector in sunshine
• A pump controller switches the pump off if the

collector output temperature is less than about 5 ° C
more than the water in the top of the tank
Controller
Passive systems with thermosyphon circulation
The water circulation in such a thermosyphon system, with the storage
tank above the collector as in a roof-top unit, is driven by the density
difference between hot and cold water.
Consider closed vertical loop of pipe filled with fluid
driving pressure
thermosyphon head represents the energy

gain per unit weight of the fluid
ρ0 is any convenient reference density
expansion coefficient
Flow is in the direction for which IT is positive

Solar concentrators
A concentrating collector comprises a receiver, where the radiation is absorbed and
converted to some other energy form, and a concentrator, which is the optical system
that directs beam radiation onto the receiver
• Concentration ratio X: the ratio of the area of aperture to the area of the receiver
aperture of the system Aa is the projected area of the concentrator facing the beam
• The Sun (radius Rs, distance L) subtends a finite angle at the Earth which limits the
achievable concentration ratio to
• The receiver temperature Tr cannot exceed the equivalent temperature Ts of the Sun
Types of concentrators
• Parabolic trough concentrator: maximum obtainable temperature
1160 K ~ 887 °C (∼700 ° C under good conditions)
• Parabolic bowl concentrator: temperatures of up to 3000K
• Non-tracking concentrators

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Solar Energy Systems

Heat in Heat loss

From the equation, the efficiency of solar water heating depends

• Reducing the radiative loss

• Inner tube containing either the potable water to be heated

• Both tubes are usually made of glass since glass holds a

• Array of these tubes, collectors may receive both direct and

• A pump controller switches the pump off if the

thermosyphon head represents the energy

Flow is in the direction for which IT is positive

• Parabolic bowl concentrator: temperatures of up to 3000K

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