ORO551 Chapter Chapter-1: SOLAR COLLECTORS
Document Summary
Solar thermal energy is the most readily available source of energy. The solar energy is most important kind of non-conventional source of energy which has been used since ancient times, but in a most primitive manner. The abundant solar energy available is suitable for harnessing for a number of applications. The application of solar thermal energy system ranges from solar cooker of 1 kw to power plant of 200mw. These systems are grouped into low temperature (<150 c), medium temperature (150-300 c) applications. Solar collectors are used to collect the solar energy and convert the incident radiations into thermal energy by absorbing them. This heat is extracted by flowing fluid (air or water or mixture with antifreeze) in the tube of the collector for further utilization in different applications. The collectors are classified as: non concentrating collectors, concentrating (focusing) collectors.
