Flat Plate Collector Solar Water Heating System

Flat plate collectors consist of a collector surface that absorbs the solar radiation a glazing to prevent the absorber from reradiating the solar energy a heat transfer medium for domestic hot water applications this is almost always water or a propylene glycol base heat transfer fluid depending on the climate and system type and insulation on the sides and back to prevent losses by conduction and convection goswami et al 2000.

Flat plate collector solar water heating system.

In contrast to solar hot water panels they use a circulating fluid to displace heat to a separated reservoir. Flat plate and evacuated tube solar collectors are mainly used to collect heat for space heating domestic hot water or cooling with an absorption chiller. The flat plate solar collectors are probably the most fundamental and most studied technology for solar powered domestic hot water systems. For smaller systems or 2 3 person families usually a set of 4 x 8 flat plates will be used.

Flat plate solar collectors a flat plate solar collector consists of a rectangular box 2ft. This means domestic water heating and solar pool heating are great applications especially in warmer climates such as southern usa and the caribbean. The solar flat plate collector is the primary component in your solar water heating package. Flat plate solar water heating systems are available in most areas of the united states and many other countries fsec currently lists 192 solar collector panel models and 280 solar systems that they certify.

The overall idea behind this technology is pretty simple. The flat plates come in a variety of sizes and there are a few options to choose from. A copper or aluminum absorber plate at the bottom of the box is finished black to absorb the maximum amount of sunlight.