In situ characterization of solar flat plate collectors under intermittent operation

Abstract

The Bayerisches Zentrum für angewandte Energieforschung Bayern (ZAE) performs an in situ test of eight different solar domestic hot water systems in Oberpfalz, Bayern. We present results of the evaluation of the collector loop from one system. This system has been chosen because due to the relatively low load the variability of the collector loop temperature is expected to be insufficient for testing purposes. The system under test consisted of the collector field and the piping from the cellar to the roof. First, we use a dynamic collector model which ignores the extra pipes and thus implicitly takes into account the pipes by modified parameter values. It is shown that this model can be inaccurate if the input data such as the irradiance and the inlet temperature do not vary sufficiently and independently from each other. Second, we use a model which explicitly takes into account the pipes, using the overall loss coefficient and the total specific heat capacity of the pipes as new parameters. It is shown that it is possible to identify the values of these additional parameters. The overall accuracy improves with the extended model. The models without and with pipes differ mainly in dynamic effects associated with the energy stored in the pipes during stops of the collector loop pump.