Solar Energy Collectors

Introduction
Physical principles of the conversion of solar
radiation into heat
Non-concentrating Collector: Flat type
Concentrating Collector: Focusing type
Merits & Demerit of Focusing type over Flat type
 INTRODUCTION
Solar Collector:
• A device used for collecting solar radiation and
transfer the energy to a fluid passing in contact
with it
• It has an associated absorber for the conversion
of solar energy into usable form

Two types:
1. Non-concentrating or Flat plate type
2. Concentrating or Focusing type
Contd…
• Flat plate type has equal absorption and
collector area

• Focusing type has more collector area for

intercepting the solar radiation, by which higher
temperature is obtained

• For best efficiency, collectors should be mounted

by facing the sun as it moves through the sky
 Physical Principles of Conversion

• Fundamental process used is green house effect

• Energy received from the sun comes in the form
of light, a short wave radiation
• This radiation strikes solid or liquid and
transforms to heat energy
• The material becomes warm and stores the
heat and conducts to surrounding materials of
lower temperature (re-radiation or long wave
radiation)
 Greenhouse effect
• Step 1: Solar radiation reaches the Earth's atmosphere -
some of this is reflected back into space.
• Step 2: The rest of the sun's energy is absorbed by the land
and the oceans, heating the Earth.
• Step 3: Heat radiates from Earth towards space.
• Step 4: Some of this heat is trapped by greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere, keeping the Earth warm enough to sustain
life.
• Step 5: Human activities such as burning fossil fuels,
agriculture and land clearing are increasing the amount of
greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
• Step 6: This is trapping extra heat, and causing the Earth's
temperature to rise.
Greenhouse effect
• Water Vapor
•Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
•Methane (CH4)
•Nitrous oxide (N2O)
•Fluorinated Gases (HFCs, PFCs, SF6)
Black Body:
• Black painted plate absorbs the incoming
sunlight

• When temperature of black plate increases, it

emits an increment of thermal heat in the form of
IR light

• Ideal black body or black absorber have high

absorption rate but also have high emission rate.

• Emission increases with temperature at the rate

of T4
 Flat plate collectors
• Suitable when temperature is below 90º to 100º C
• Made of rectangular panels about 1.7 to 2.9 sq.m
in area
• Collect and absorb both direct and diffuse solar
radiation
• Partially effective even on cloudy day even there
is less radiation
Types:
1. Liquid heating collector
2. Solar air heater – Non-porous & Porous
 Components of Flat plate collector
1. Transparent cover or sheet of glass or radiation
transmitting plastic film (5mm thickness)
- It reduces convection losses (by keeping air layer between
the absorber plate and the glass
- It is transparent to short wave radiation and nearly opaque to
long wave thermal radiation.
2. Tubes, fins, passages or channels with collector
absorber plate to carry hot water
- Dia of these tubes 1.25cm, header 2.5cm
3. Absorber plate (metallic or black surface) (0.5 – 1mm)
- made up of aluminum, copper steel
4. Fiber glass Insulation provided at the back and sides
to minimize heat losses (2.5 – 8cm)
5. Casing or container enclose the components to protect
from weather. It is made of metallic sheet or fiber
glass.
Liquid type collector
Construction – Flat type:
• Plate and tube type
• Flat surface with high absorption
• Metal plates (copper, steel or aluminum) used as
absorber materials
• Absorber plate are also made of metal with 1 to
2 mm thickness and soldered either in bottom or
top of the plates
• Some design has tube panels
• Heat is transferred from absorber plate by circulating
fluid across solar heated surface
• Front cover is a glass that is transparent to incoming
solar radiation and opaque to IR radiation from absorber
• Glass with some plastic film acts as a shield to prevent
heat losses
• Thickness is of 3 to 4 mm
• In Water streams absorber plates of metal sheet is used
with black coating
• Black chrome (Cr2O3) with thickness if 2µm is used
• Collector plate has a dimension of 2m x 1m x 15cm
Absorber plate corrugated galvanized sheet

Conventional standard panel radiators

Bonding and clamping tubes to a flat sheet

Tube in strip roll bond design

 Effect of Design Parameters on Performance
• Heat Transport System
– Air is used to heat transfer, air stream flows at the rear side of the collector
plate . Fins are welded to increase the contact surface.
• Selective Surfaces
– Defined as high absorbtivity for incoming solar radiations and low
emissivity for outgoing radiation.
– It is composed of a thin lack metallic oxide coated on a bright metal base.
– Black coating – good absorber for heat
– Bright metal – low emissivity for thermal radiation
– Black chrome coating (Cr-Cr2O3) . Metal dielectric (Cr2O3) layer over a Cr
particle prepared by electroplating on a steel base.
• No of Covers
– To minimize the convection and radiation loss
– A single sheet reduces the heat loss coefficient to 10W/m2.K
– Double sheet reduces further the HLC to 4W/m2.K
• Spacing
- No specific way to find the optimum spacing.
- Researchers suggested the spacing 4 to 8cm for better performance
Solar Air heater type
Non-porous type solar air heater
• Non-porous absorber cooled by the air stream
flowing over both sides of plate
• Air flows behind the absorbing surface to
prevent convection losses
• Rear plates are roughened to improve heat
transfer
• Addition of fins to increase heat transfer area by
absorption of solar radiation
Porous type solar air-heater
Porous type solar air-heater
• Solar radiation penetrates to greater depth
and absorbed gradually
• Upper surface mesh gets heated first
• Air stream effectively transfer heat from the
matrix or mesh
• Pressure drop is lower than non-porous type
• Crushed glass layers of broken bottles used
to obtain porous bed
 Laws of Thermal Radiation
• Energy emitted by a blackbody is Eb= σT4
• Energy emitted by the real body is E= εσT4
• ε – emissivity of the real body (<1)
• σ = 5.6697 X 10 -8 W/m2K4 – Stefan Boltzmann
constant
• The net radiation to a body of surface area(A) is
– Q= εAσ(T4sky - T4)
– 1963 --- Tsky = 0.0552 Tair1.5
– 1967 ---- Tsky=Tair- 12
 Transmissivity of the cover system
• Snell’s law of refraction,
Transmissivity of the cover system
Transmissivity of the cover system
Concentrating or Focusing Collector
• Collect solar energy with high intensity of solar
radiation on the energy absorbing surface
• Concentration is obtained using optical system from
the reflecting mirrors or the refracting lenses.
• Placed between solar radiation and absorber
• Fluid inside the collector can be heated up to 500ºC
or more with high energy concentrators
• Due to the presence of optical system additional
losses are included in addition to those which occur
while radiation is transmitted
 Types of concentrating collector
Focusing type:
1. Line focusing type
o Parabolic trough collector
o Mirror strip reflector
o Fresnel lens collector
2. Point focusing type
o Paraboloidal type
o Distributed heliostat type

Non-focusing type:
o Flat plate collector with adjustable mirrors
o Compound parabolic concentrator
Parabolic trough collector:

• Solar radiation coming from particular direction

is collected over the area of reflecting surface
and is concentrated at the focus of parabola
• If the reflector is in the form of trough with
parabolic cross-section, the solar radiation is
focused along a line
• Cylindrical construction is generally used
• Made of polished aluminum, silvered glass or of
a thin film of aluminized plastic on a firm base
Mirror strip collector:
• A number of plane or slightly curved mirror strips are
mounted on a flat base
• The angles of the individual mirrors are such that
they reflect solar radiation from a specific direction
to the same focal line
• The angle of the mirrors are adjusted for changes is
sun’s elevation
• Mirrors strips are fixed and collector pipe moved
continuously to remain in focal line
Fresnel lens collector:
• Refraction type of focusing collector is used
• Utilizes the focusing effect of collectors
• Fresnel lens are continuously aligned with the
sun
• Uses a receiver pipe which consist of hollow
plug which focus towards fresnel lens to obtain
maximum radiation
• Absorber pipe is enclosed in a glass cover in
order to decrease thermal losses by convection
and radiation
Paraboloidal type:
• Dish collector bring solar radiation to a focus at a point
within a small central volume
• Absorber located at the focus with a cavity made
zirconium copper alloy with selective coating
• Heat transport fluid flows into and out of the absorber
cavity through the pipes bonded to the interior
• Collectors are designed for high concentration with
small angle of view with the following configuration:
– Linear focusing collector
– Spherical and conical mirror focusing collector
– Central receiver collector
• A dish of 6m in dia with
200 curved mirror
segments forming
parabolidal surface.
• The absorber made up
of zirconium copper
alloy with a selective
coating of black chrome.
 Flat plate collector with adjustable mirrors
• It is a mirror boosted flat
plate collector
• Mirrors are attached to the
edges of the plate and set at
proper angle to reflect the
solar radiation to the
absorber plate
• The scattered radiation is
utilized properly
• Increases the radiation area
for the absorber plate
Compound parabolic type:
• Also called as Winston
collector
• Trough like arrangement
of two facing parabolic
mirrors
• Solar radiation from
many direction reflected
from bottom of trough.
• Scattered radiation also
gets collected
Types:
1. Flat one sided
2. Flat two sided
3. Wedger like absorber
4. Tubular absorber
 Compound parabolic type:
• Acceptance
angle is 11.50
• https://en.wikipedia.o
rg/wiki/Etendue
• https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=Upj6M
len5Zg
Advantages of concentrating type over flat type

 Reflecting surfaces requires less material and

structurally simpler than flat type
 Absorber area is smaller than flat type and
insolation (measure of solar radiation on a given
surface)
 Heat lost per area to the surroundings is lesser
 Insulation of absorber is more concentrated
Contd…
 Working fluid attains higher temperature
 Surface treatment and vacuum insulation to reduce
the heat loss & improve collector efficiency
 Total useful time of operation is higher
 Initial installation cost is reduced
 Amount of heat stored per unit volume is larger
 Little amount of anti-freezing material is required to
protect the absorber in the concentrator
Disadvantages of concen. type over flat type

• Only beam radiation is collected

• Diffused component is not reflected
• In stationary reflecting system, additional
absorber required to track sun’s image
• Maintenance cost
• Additional optical losses (reflectance + intercept)
• Non-uniform flow of sun’s radiation