Experimental Evaluation of an Innovative Non-Metallic Flat Plate Solar Collector

Radim Rybár,Sergey Zhironkin,Martin Beer,Kamila Bačová,Tawfik Mudarri,Jaroslav Dugas

doi:10.3390/en14196240

Abstract

The present article deals with the concept of the non-metallic flat plate liquid solar collector and its evaluation. The innovative concept lies in the elimination of metal parts of the solar collector and their replacement by the foam glass block, which significantly reduces the energy and material demands of the production process. The evaluation of the collector took place in two phases, the first was focused on the numerical evaluation, which resulted in the compilation of a theoretical curve of the efficiency of the solar collector. The second phase was focused on verifying the basic functionality of the concept based on the results obtained from experimental tests of the collector, which confirmed the functionality of the concept and revealed several areas that will need to be addressed in the further development of the prototype.

Highlights

Michal Cehlar andOne of the essential conditions for the sustainable development of modern society is the necessity to ensure the energy supply in the required quantity and quality while minimizing possible negative impacts on the environment [1,2,3,4,5,6]
It can be assumed that the replacement of metal construction materials with cheaper non-metallic materials will lead to a reduction in the total cost of production of the solar collector, which should be reflected in the final price of the product
This can occur only while maintaining a similar operational efficiency in the solar collector. Another positive aspect is the reduction of manufacturing energy consumption by excluding the most energy-intensive materials from the construction of the solar collector, which is directly reflected in the reduction of the energy payback period of the solar system

Summary

Introduction

Michal Cehlar andOne of the essential conditions for the sustainable development of modern society is the necessity to ensure the energy supply in the required quantity and quality while minimizing possible negative impacts on the environment [1,2,3,4,5,6]. From the whole range of renewable energy sources, one of the greatest theoretical, and real, technical potentials is solar energy [24]. This source is possible to use in many ways, mostly to produce electricity using PV systems or heat using solar collector systems [25,26,27,28,29,30,31]. The present article deals with the use of solar energy to produce heat in the form of hot water, which is produced using an innovative non-metallic solar collector that was designed and manufactured by the authors. The concept of a non-metallic solar collector is based on the experience the authors gained in the process of assessing the technical and operational parameters of commercially produced and available flat plate

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion