Solar collectors collect sunlight's heat. Commonly, they are used for solar hot water heating. Solar collectors are also useful for power generation. These are just a few types of solar collectors. They include Reflective bowl shaped arrays and parabolic trough plants.
Transpired solar collectors
Transpired Solar Collector is an effective and simple way to harness the power solar radiation. This technology has been in use for over 20 years in North America. It is extremely thermal efficient and has a quick payback time. It works by taking the heat emitted from the sun and delivering it through a single steel sheet. Kimpton Energy Solutions has installed many systems that are both efficient and economically.
Plants for parabolic trough
To generate solar thermal energy, parabolic-trough solar collectors can be used. They provide a better solution than evacuated tubes to solar thermal energy generation. Parabolic trough collectors are used in this solar thermal power production plant for Saudi Arabia. This plant is designed to maximize the country's vast solar radiation potential. Simulations show that using a parabolic trough as a pre-heating unit in a power cycle results in a 23% power generation rate and a 6.5% efficiency increase.
Reflective bowl-shaped arrays
For collecting solar energy, reflective bowl-shaped solar collectors arrays can be used. These arrays are composed of first and 2nd support portions. Each portion supports at least 1 primary reflector and one photovoltaic cell. Each reflector is equipped with a first axis as well as a second, which is parallel to that of the first. The reflector's purpose is to focus radiation incident to the focus point. The second support section is designed to receive radiation incident on both the first and second dimensions.
Concentrating systems
Concentrating solar collectors use mirrors to focus the sun's radiation onto receivers. These collectors allow the sun's radiation to reach the absorber surface through multiple reflections and multiple apertures. There are many different types of absorbers for concentrating collectors. For maximum effectiveness, collectors should be placed between the reflectors and receivers.
Flat-plate collectors
Flat-plate solar collectors offer high performance and long, maintenance-free lives. For optimal performance, they require careful consideration of several factors.
Closed-loop collectors
Closed-loop solar panels are a popular way to heat indoor solar pools. The solar collectors are connected via a closed loop system that allows water to flow to a storage container. The water flows through the solar collectors, and then turns to steam. The system can be used for heating domestic hot water or for heating a swimming pool that remains open year-round.
Unglazed collectors
They are an alternative to heating and cooling buildings with unglazed solar collectors. These collectors are made of unglazed aluminum plates covered with tubing. The collector is attached to a building's roofing and designed to heat ambient or recirculated air. They perform best at flow rates of four to eight CFM per square foot.