Go Greener Tips

The main component of the flat collector is a copper absorber with selective coating, which provides a high level of absorption of solar energy and low emission of thermal energy. Copper tube is installed at absorber and coolant flows through the former. It may be water or some non-freezing liquid, which takes heat from the absorber and simultaneously with circulating through the coil, it accumulates in the accumulation tank (the tank with water).

The absorber body is protected by a collector with a reinforced insulation that also minimizes heat loss. The amount of solar radiation that reaches the surface of the solar collector reaches its maximum only at noon when the sun is at its zenith. Speaking about morning and evening, sunlight falls on it at an angle, and the amount of absorbed solar radiation decreases.

Flat collectors do not work in winter, because even with a two-system` antifreeze, the maximum allowable operating temperature is about -5 ° C. With further lowering loses of heat reduce the result to a level of zero. The more solar collectors absorb solar energy and the less they lose it, the more efficient the system will work. Efficiency of the collector shows what percentage of solar radiation that falls on its base surface, can be converted into useful thermal output. This indicator is volatile and can be determined only in the specific operating conditions in a single moment in time. The lower the temperature to which you want to heat the water, the more efficiency is. Modern flat solar collector work with an average working efficiency of 50%, more obsolete models work with 20-40% of it.

And now we will compare flat collectors with those of high-vacuum tubes type. Their employment is based on a simple principle of a heat pipe, which is a hollow brass rod, soldered at both ends with the extension in the upper part. Non-toxic reagent is inside of it; it evaporates during boiling and in the form of vapor rises into the upper part – into the tip, where the temperature can reach 250 ° C. And it is condensed there, giving warmth, and condensate flows down the walls of the tube, and the process repeats then.

Heat removal can be carried out in different ways, for example, directly from the tip through the glass, soldered to the pipe through which the solar fluid flows. In a closed-circuit it can be freezing liquid-based glycol (warmth comes to storing tank), in an open system it may water (it goes directly into the boiler). Whatever it were, immediately after the absorption the heat is given to the coolant and does not go into the environment. This is the key difference between heat pipes and flat solar collectors.

The effectiveness of heat pipes with U-shaped tubes (the most simple, used in tubular systems) is a cut above that of flat collectors. Due to its cylindrical form, they work fine during the day, because their surface is always illuminated by the sun. This results in a stable energy at different angles of incidence of sunlight. The tubes are well protected from the adverse effects of nature (hail, wind and other things), but in any case, such systems also have weaknesses.

Be smart and use the aid of solar power grants to convert your life to better ecological balance with nature. Read about solar power grants, how to make proper use of them and where you can apply for these solar power grants.

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