Solar Thermal Technologies

Solar thermal technologies are harnessing solar energy for thermal energy (heat). Solar thermal technologies comprise flat collectors for low- and medium temperatures and high temperature collectors concentrating sunlight using mirrors and lenses.

A flat plate is the most common type of solar thermal collector, and is usually used as a solar hot water panel to generate hot water. A weatherproofed, insulated box containing a black metal absorber sheet with built in pipes is placed in the path of sunlight. Solar energy heats up water in the pipes causing it to circulate through the system by natural convection. The water is usually passed to a storage tank located above the collector.

There are many flat-plate collector designs but generally all consist of (1) a flat-plate absorber, which intercepts and absorbs the solar energy, (2) a transparent cover(s) that allows solar energy to pass through but reduces heat loss from the absorber, (3) a heat-transport fluid (air, antifreeze or water) flowing through tubes to remove heat from the absorber, and (4) a heat insulating backing. One flat plate collector is designed to be evacuated, to prevent heat loss. The absorber may be made from one of a wide range of materials, including copper, stainless steel, galvanised steel, aluminium and plastics. When choosing an absorber material, it is important to ensure that it is compatible, from the point of view of corrosion, with the other components in the system and with the heat transfer fluid used. The absorber must also be able to withstand the highest temperature that it might reach on a sunny day when no fluid is flowing in the collector (known as the stagnation temperature). The fluid passageways of the absorber may consist of tubes bonded to an absorbing plate, or may form an integral part of the absorber. Experience has shown that simple mechanical clamping of tubes to an absorber plate is likely to result in an absorber with a poor efficiency. A good thermal bond, such as a braze, weld or high temperature solder is required for tube and plate designs, in order to ensure good heat transfer from the absorbing surface into the fluid. Matt black paints are commonly used for absorber surfaces because they are relatively cheap, simple to apply and may be easily repaired. Paints, however, have the disadvantage that they are usually strong emitters of thermal radiation (infrared), and at high temperature this results in significant heat losses from the front of the collector. Heat losses from the collector can be substantially reduced by the use of absorber coatings known as 'selective surfaces'. These surfaces may be applied by electroplating or by dipping a metal absorber in appropriate chemicals to produce a thin semi-conducting film over the surface. The thin film will be transparent to solar radiation but at the same time appear opaque to thermal radiation. However, these surfaces cannot be produced or applied easily. Flat-plate collectors usually have a transparent cover made of glass or plastic. The cover is required to reduce heat losses from the front of the collector and to protect the absorber and the insulation from the weather. Most covers behave like a greenhouse. They permit solar radiation to pass into the collector, but they absorb the thermal radiation emitted by the hot absorber.

At night it is possible for the collector to lose heat by radiation and the circulation will be in the opposite direction, so the water will cool. This can be overcome by use of a suitable non-return valve. However, there is a danger with solar collectors when used under clear night conditions (e.g. in arid and semi arid regions) that they can actually freeze even when the ambient temperature is above freezing point. In such conditions it may be necessary to have a primary circuit through the collector filled with antifreeze and a separate indirect hot water cylinder where the water from the collector passes through a copper coil to heat the main water supply. This problem will only apply in certain desert regions in the cold season or at high altitudes in the tropics and sub-tropics.

Costs

Low temperature flat-plate solar collectors typically cost 21 US $ per square metre (0,0021 US $ /cm²). Medium to high temperature collectors generally cost around 200 US $ per square metre. Flat plate collectors are sized at approximately 0,1 square metre (929 cm²) per gallon (3,79 l ) of daily hot water use or 245 cm² per l of hot water. A complete system installed costs around 14 US $/l or 2000 US $ per 150 l.

Maintenance

Solar thermal systems are relatively maintenance free and involve on an occasional base the checking of the piping for leaks and the cleaning of the collectors. In some regions it may also be necessary to inspect the transfer fluid for freeze protection and to remove the build up of lime scale that chokes the collector and tank recirculating pipes over a period of time.