Flat plate collectors

The most common type of energy collector, the flat plate collector, is a
rectangular-shaped box that is put on the roof of the home or building
where the solar water heating system is located; a collector consists of
the absorber, the transparent cover, the frame and the heat insulation.

.flat-plate collector )Fig.1(

Absorber: The absorber converts short-wave radiation into heat

(photo-thermal conversion). The radiation absorption is carried out by a
type of absorber material with quite a high absorption capacity within
the luminous spectrum. On the other hand, a low absorption and thus
.emission capacity, is aimed for in the thermal radiation wave spectrum
In addition, the absorber has to enable a good heat transfer to the heat
carrier and also be temperature-resistant, as normally temperatures of up
to 200 °C occur in an insulated absorber with glass cover and selective
coating. In concentrating collectors temperatures are generally even
.higher
Mainly copper and aluminum are used to build absorbers. Polymeric
materials and steel could become more important in the future. In the
simplest case, this basic material is painted black on the side receiving
.radiation (maximum absorber temperature approximately 130 °C)
For a large number of absorbers, this side is also coated selectively
.(maximum absorber temperature approximately 200 °C)
The heat carrier flows through the channels inside the absorber. The
system of pipes in the absorber can vary in terms of pipe material, pipe
.cross-section, length and pipe allocation within the collector

Cover: The transparent cover of collectors ought to be as transparent

for solar radiation as possible and retain the long-wave thermal
reflection of the absorber. At the same time it has to reduce convective
.thermal losses to the environment
Suitable materials are glass sheets, synthetic plates or synthetic foils
.(e.g. made of polyethylene or Teflon)
But, transmission values of synthetic covers are often not stable on
long-term. Therefore for most applications glass is used. Thus it is
avoided that the glass sheet heats up. Often infrared-reflecting layers are
vacuum coated on the bottom side of the cover to reflect the long-wave
heat radiation from the absorber to the cover into the direction of the
.absorber. Thus losses can be reduced even further

Collector box: The collector box holds the components required for
.radiation transmission, absorption, heat conversion and insulation
It can be made of aluminum, galvanised steel plate, synthetic
material or wood. It gives the collector mechanical firmness and makes
.it environment-proof
Boxes installed externally on the roof have a cover (e.g. made of
aluminum) at their back, whereas boxes integrated into the roof do not
.need such a cover

Other components: Thermal insulation made of standard insulation

material (e.g. polyurethane, glass fiber wool, mineral wool) belongs to
the group of other components. Often additional components are offered
for on-roof installed collectors that enable collector installation with a
certain angle to the roof slope to increase energy gain. If the temperature
needs to be measured inside or outside of the collector, there are drill-
.holes or other means available
 :Energy balance of Flat Collector

General energy balance

Equation (1) describes the general energy balance of a medium that absorbs
.radiation and converts it into heat

)1( Q˙cni ,|¿=

| Q˙
vnoc ,|¿|+Qdar
˙ |,¿|+Q˙
lfer ,|¿|+Q˙
dnoc ,|¿|+Q˙
lufesu
¿
¿
¿
¿
¿

,Q̇inc,abs is the entire global radiation incident on the absorber surface

:Q̇useful is the utilizable thermal flow. In addition there are four different loss flows
.Convection losses of the absorber to the ambient air Q̇conv,abs −
.Long-wave radiation losses of the absorber Q̇rad,abs −
.Reflection losses of the absorber Q̇refl,abs −
.Thermal conductivity losses Q̇cond,abs −

Energy balance of the collector

In solar thermal systems the absorber is normally part of a collector that other
involves: frame, cover and insulation. A collector removes the utilizable heat by a
.heat transfer medium flowing through the collector (Fig. 2)

Fig.2 Stationary energy balance at the collector or the absorber

The difference between the energy at the inlet and the outlet of the heat transfer
.medium is the heat removed by the transfer medium Quseful (Eqn. 2)
)2( Q ˙
lufesu ¿m˙C p T
( tuo − T ¿ )

Where:

ṁ - mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid (kg/s)

     cp - specific heat of heat transfer fluid (J/kg.K)

   Tout - temperature of heat transfer fluid leaving the absorber (K)

     Tin - temperature of heat transfer fluid entering the absorber (K)

:Calculating of transmission and absorption coefficient

IO
)3( τ=
I

1
)4( α=gol 01
τ

Where:

τ- Transmission Coefficient
α- Absorption Coefficient
)5( α + τ+ ρ= 1
 :Where
ρ- Reflection Coefficient

-:Case study
I0=860 W/m2 , I=721 W/m2

From Equation (3)

127
τ= =838.
0
068

From Equation (4)

1
α=gol 01 70.0
= 76
838.0

From Equation (5)

ρ=
7670.0
1− 838.0
−

0.085 =

The total global radiation Q̇inc

)6( Q˙cni= I∗ A

:Where
I- Incident Radiation
A- Collector Area

The global radiation incident on the absorber Q̇inc,abs is defined by the part
of the total global radiation Q̇inc on the collector cover that transmitted to the
.absorber (Eqn. 6)

)7( Q˙cni ,|¿|¿ τvoc Q˙cni ¿

The reflection losses of the absorber Qrefl,abs can be calculated with the
radiation on the absorber and the degree of reflection (Eqn. 7). It is neglected that a
small part of the radiation reflected by the absorber is again reflected by the cover
back towards the absorber. τcov is the transmission coefficient of the cover and the
.reflection coefficient of the absorber is ρabs

)8( Qlfer
˙ ,|¿|¿ voc
τ Q˙cni ρ |¿|¿ ¿

According to the Stefan-Boltzmann radiation law, the radiation losses Qrad,abs

result from the degree of emission ε, the difference between the absorber
temperature Tabs and the ambient external temperature Te, to the fourth power (in
Kelvin), plus the Stefan-Boltzmann-constant σ (5,67·10-8 W/(m2 K4)) according
.to (Eqn. 8). In addition, they are proportional to the radiating absorber area Sabs

)9( Qdar
˙ ,|¿|¿ ε |¿|σ ¿ ¿¿¿ ¿

The convective thermal losses of the absorber are initially transferred to the cover
plate. In a steady state (i.e. the temperature changes of the cover plate do not
change) this thermal flow is then transferred entirely to the environment. This
convective thermal flow Q̇conv,abs can be assumed to be approximately linear. It
depends on the difference between the absorber temperature Tabs and the ambient
air temperature Te, and can be described by using the heat transfer coefficient U*coll
that is constant in the first approximation (i.e. temperature-independent heat
.transfer coefficient). The corresponding equation is as follows (Eqn. 10)

)10( Qvnoc
˙ ¿
,|¿|¿Ulloc ¿ ¿¿
 Fig.3 Comparison of radiation and convection heat loss for a black, vertical surface in free air at
25oC

The thermal flow Q̇cond,abs due to the heat conduction from the absorber to the frame
and the insulation is very small compared to the other thermal flows and can be
neglected. The energy balance results therefore in (Eqn. 10) for the heat Q̇useful
.transported by the heat transfer medium

Q ˙ τ Q˙cni ρ |¿|–Ulloc¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
τ Q˙cni− voc
lufesu = voc

)11( − ε |¿|σ ¿ ¿¿

The first two terms of (Eqn. 11) can be joined. Furthermore, the absorber normally
has low degrees of emission. If the temperature difference between the absorber
and the environment is kept low, the last term of (Eqn. 11) can be neglected in
many cases. The entire heat and radiation losses can be described, in an
approximation using a heat transfer coefficient U* coll, as linearly dependent on the
temperature that takes the entire thermal losses into account. These assumptions
.result in (Eqn. 12)

)12( Q
lufesu = vτoc α |¿Q
˙ | ˙ −U
cni
¿
lloc ¿¿¿
Efficiency
The efficiency η of the conversion of solar radiation energy into useable heat in
the collector results from the ratio of the useful thermal flow transported by the
heat transfer medium Q̇useful to the global radiation incident on the collector (Eqn.
13). The efficiency η of the conversion of solar radiation energy into useable heat
in the collector results from the ratio of the useful thermal flow transported by the
heat transfer medium Q̇useful to the global radiation incident on the collector (Eqn.
.13)

Q˙
)13( η= lufesu
Q˙cni
For a collector with given transmission and absorption coefficients, plus a given
.thermal conductivity coefficient, the efficiency can be calculated in (Eqn. 14)

)14( η= voc
τ α |¿−| U ¿
lloc
¿ ¿¿¿

With given material parameters, the highest efficiency is achieved at the lowest
possible temperature difference between the absorber, the environment and a
.maximum radiation

Typical Performance
Figure 4 gives typical performance for a number of different types of flat-plate
collectors. These range from an unglazed absorber as is used for very low
temperature applications to double-glazed, selective-surface collectors.
 Fig.4 Performance of typical commercial flat-plate solar collectors.

A second abscissa scale has been included on this plot to aid in rapid interpretation.
Since the abscissa is the temperature difference divided by the total solar
irradiance, these parameters may be separated in monogram style with a separate
abscissa.

Although flat-plate collectors may be operated at fairly high temperatures when

solar irradiance or ambient temperature is high, as solar irradiance or ambient
temperature decreases or the angle of incidence increases, the efficiency falls. An
example is shown in Fig 4 for a temperature difference of 50ºC , where the solar
irradiance has decreased to 600 W/m2 , and the efficiencies of the first three
collectors have dropped below usable levels. This curve supports the conclusion
made previously that flat-plate collectors are adequate for applications where the
temperature rise above ambient is less than about 50ºC .