Analysis and Design of Solar Collector and Solar Thermal System

This chapter discusses topics such as solar radiation, radiation optical properties, and analysis and design of solar collector. The basic purpose of a solar thermal energy system is to collect solar radiation and convert it into useful thermal energy. The system performance depends on several factors, including availability of solar energy, the ambient air temperature, the characteristic of the energy requirement, and especially the thermal characteristics of solar system itself. Several types of collector are available and are classified based on operational temperature; type of collector fluid: liquid or air; fixed and tracking; and flat plate vs. concentrating. The main purpose of the absorber plate is to absorb as much energy as possible, lose as little heat as possible to environment by conduction, convection, and radiation through collector glaze covers, insulations, and structure, and transfer the heat to the collector-circulating fluids.