You are on page 1of 5

Solar Flat Plate Collectors

Solar water heating panels in their simplest form are made from a sheet of metal painted black which absorbs the suns energy. Water is fed through the panel in pipes attached to the metal sheet and picks up the heat in the metal. . The system is usually installed on the roof. A typical flat-plate collector is a metal box with a glass or plastic cover (called glazing) on top and a dark-colored absorber plate on the bottom. The sides and bottom of the collector are usually insulated to minimize heat loss. Sunlight passes through the glazing and strikes the absorber plate, which heats up, changing solar energy into heat energy. The heat is transferred to liquid passing through pipes attached to the absorber plate. Absorber plates are commonly painted with "selective coatings," which absorb and retain heat better than ordinary black paint. Absorber plates are usually made of metaltypically copper or aluminumbecause the metal is a good heat conductor. Copper is more expensive, but is a better conductor and less prone to corrosion than aluminum. In locations with average available solar energy, flat plate collectors are sized approximately one-half- to one-square foot per gallon of one-day's hot water use. Low Temperature Collectors Low temperature solar collectors are typically unglazed flat plate collectors, intended to operate at temperatures only 5 to 30 degrees above ambient temperature. Low temperature liquid collectors are used for swimming pool heating. With light glazing and enclosure, they are used as air collectors for agricultural low-temperature applications such as crop drying. Plastic low-temperature collectors have been used widely for swimming pool heating. However, because of the deteriorating effects of ultra violet radiation and stagnation temperatures on some plastic solar collectors, metal collectors are being more widely utilized. Unglazed collectors with aluminum absorber plates and copper water passages appear to be most cost effective over the typical metal collector lifetime of 20 years or more. All-copper collectors for swimming pool heating also work well, but are generally more expensive for the same performance characteristics. Copper is preferred over any other metal for water passages because of its high conductivity and compatibility with water. Almost all other metals must be separated from direct contact with the water being heated by a heat exchanger, which seriously reduces the collector efficiency. Medium Temperature Collectors Medium temperature collectors typically are flat-plate collectors, enclosed in an insulated case, with one or two glazings. The intended temperature range of operation is from about 15 to 200 degrees F above ambient temperature. For the lower end of this range, single-glazed collectors with non-selective absorber plates are most cost effective. In the middle and high end of the range, selective collectors with one or two glazings become more cost effective. Typical applications include water heating, space heating and some medium temperature industrial heating uses. High Temperature Collectors High temperature collectors include some overlap from flat plate collectors in the medium temperature range, with selective absorber plates and heavy insulation, and may have temperature capabilities enhanced in installation by being mounted in a sun-tracking system

Solar Evacuated Tube Collectors

Evacuated-tube collectors Evacuated-tube collectors are typically more efficient at higher temperatures than flat-plate collectors. In an evacuated-tube collector, sunlight enters through the outer glass tube and strikes the absorber, where the energy is converted to heat. The heat is transferred to the liquid flowing through the absorber. The collector consists of rows of parallel transparent glass tubes, each of which contains an absorber covered with a selective coating. The absorber typically has fin-tube design (fins increase the absorber surface and the heat-transfer rate), although cylindrical absorbers also are used. When evacuated tubes are manufactured, air is evacuated from the space between the two tubes, forming a vacuum. Convective and conductive heat losses are eliminated because there is no air to convect or conduct heat, so evacuated-tube collectors are efficient at higher temperatures and perform well in both direct and diffuse solar radiation. Evacuated-tube collectors are more appropriate for most commercial and industrial applications because they can achieve extremely high temperatures (170F to 350F). However, evacuated-tube collectors are more expensive than flat-plate collectors

Solar Concentrating Collectors

Concentrating Collectors

Concentrating collectors use mirrored surfaces to concentrate the sun's energy on an absorber called a receiver. Concentrating collectors also achieve high temperatures, but unlike evacuated-tube collectors, they can do so only when direct sunlight is available. The mirrored surface focuses sunlight collected over a large area onto a smaller absorber area to achieve high temperatures. Some designs concentrate solar energy onto a focal point, while others concentrate the sun's rays along a thin line called the focal line. The receiver is located at the focal point or along the focal line. A heat-transfer fluid flows through the receiver and absorbs heat. These collectors reach much higher temperatures than flat-plate collectors. However, concentrators can only focus direct solar radiation, with the result being that their performance is poor on hazy or cloudy days. Concentrators are most practical in areas of high insolation (exposure to the sun's rays), such as those close to the equator and in the desert southwest United States. Concentrators perform best when pointed directly at the sun. To do this, these systems use tracking mechanisms to move the collectors during the day to keep them focused on the sun. Single-axis trackers move east to west; dual-axis trackers move east and west and north and south (to follow the sun throughout the year). In addition to these mechanical trackers, there are passive trackers that use freon to supply the movement. While not widely

used, they do provide a low-maintenance alternative to mechanical systems. Concentrators are used mostly in commercial applications because they are expensive and because the trackers need frequent maintenance. Some residential solar energy systems use parabolic-trough concentrating systems. These installations can provide hot water, space heating, and water purification. Most residential systems use single-axis trackers, which are less expensive and simpler than dual-axis trackers. Types of concentrating collectors: There are four basic types of concentrating collectors: Parabolic trough Parabolic dish Power tower Stationary concentrating collectors

Parabolic trough solar power

Solar Trough System Trough systems predominate among todays commercial solar power plants. Trough systems convert the heat from the sun into electricity. Because of their parabolic shape, troughs can focus the sun at 30 to 60 times its normal intensity on a receiver pipe located along the focal line of the trough. Synthetic oil captures this heat as the oil circulates through the pipe, reaching temperatures as high as 390C (735F). The hot oil is pumped to a generating station and routed through a heat exchanger to produce steam. Finally, electricity is produced in a conventional steam turbine. Parabolic trough solar power plants produce electricity from the heat of the sun. Trough technology is the most cost-effective solar technology available today, with potential for significant cost reduction. This technology has the advantage over other renewable technologies (e.g., wind) in that it can be augmented with fossil fuels or with the addition thermal storage, allowing trough technology to provide electricity on demand. The first parabolic trough solar power plant became operational in 1984. It continues to provide commercial power to this day. In total, nine trough power plants ranging in size from 14 MWe to 80 MWe are currently in operation and have a combined operational experience of more than 110 years. Together, they have produced about 7.5 billion kWh of electricity. Parabolic trough solar power plants produce electric power by converting the sun's energy into hightemperature heat through the use of parabolic-trough collectors. The sun's energy is concentrated by the parabolic-shaped mirrors (or reflectors) with focus light onto a receiver pipe running located at the focus of the collector mirrors. This energy heats oil flowing through the pipe, and the heat energy is then used to generate electricity in a conventional steam turbine. A collector field comprises many troughs in parallel rows aligned on a north-south axis. This configuration enables the single-axis troughs to track the sun from east to west during the day to ensure that the sun is continuously focused on the receiver pipes. Individual trough systems currently can generate about 80 megawatts of electricity, enough to power a city of 110,000 people. Of course, individual systems can be grouped to provide more power.

Because trough technology relies on sunshine, it is often "hybridized" with fossil fuel systems to allow generation of power around the clock. Typically a natural gas-fired heat or a gas steam boiler/reheater is used; troughs also can be integrated with existing coal-fired plants or high efficiency combined-cycle plants. Trough designs can incorporate thermal storage-setting aside the heat transfer fluid in its hot phase-allowing for electricity generation several hours into the evening. These attributes, along with impressive solar-to-electric conversion efficiencies, make trough technology an attractive renewable energy option in the Southwest and other sunbelt regions worldwide. Parabolic trough technology is in the family of concentrating solar power technologies, also called solar thermal electric technologies.

Solar Dish/engine systems

0.

What is a Solar Dish-Engine System? A Solar Dish-Engine System is an electric generator that burns sunlight instead of gas or coal to produce electricity. The major parts of a system are the solar concentrator and the power conversion unit. Descriptions of these subsystems and how they operate are presented below. THE DISH, which is more specifically referred to as a concentrator, is the primary solar component of the system. It collects the solar energy coming directly from the sun (the solar energy that causes you to cast a shadow) and concentrates or focuses it on a small area. The resultant solar beam has all of the power of the sunlight hitting the dish but is concentrated in a small area so that it can be more efficiently used. Glass mirrors reflect ~92% of the sunlight that hits them, are relatively inexpensive, can be cleaned, and last a long time in the outdoor environment, making them an excellent choice for the reflective surface of a solar concentrator. The dish structure must track the sun continuously to reflect the beam into the thermal receiver. THE POWER CONVERSION UNIT includes the thermal receiver and the engine/generator. The thermal receiver is the interface between the dish and the engine/generator. It absorbs the concentrated beam of solar energy, converts it to heat, and transfers the heat to the engine/generator. A thermal receiver can be a bank of tubes with a cooling fluid, usually hydrogen or helium, which is the heat transfer medium and also the working fluid for an engine. Alternate thermal receivers are heat pipes wherein the boiling and condensing of an intermediate fluid is used to transfer the heat to the engine. The engine/generator system is the subsystem that takes the heat from the thermal receiver and uses it to produce electricity. The most common type of heat engine used in dish-engine systems is the Stirling engine. A Stirling engine uses heat provided from an external source (like the sun) to move pistons and make mechanical power, similar to the internal combustion engine in your car. The mechanical work, in the form of the rotation of the engines crankshaft, is used to drive a generator and produce electrical power. In addition to the Stirling engine, microturbines and concentrating photovoltaics are also being evaluated as possible future power conversion unit technologies. Microturbines are currently being manufactured for distributed generation systems and could potentially be used in dish-engine systems. These engines, which are similar to (but much smaller than) jet engines, would also be used to drive an electrical generator. A photovoltaic conversion system is not actually an engine, but a semi-conductor array, in which the sunlight is directly converted into electricity.

Power tower systems

Power tower systems: What is a Power Tower and How Does it Work? A power tower converts sunshine into clean electricity for the worlds electricity grids. The technology utilizes many large, sun-tracking mirrors (heliostats) to focus sunlight on a receiver at the top of a tower. A heat transfer fluid heated in the receiver is used to generate steam, which, in turn, is used in a conventional turbine-generator to produce electricity. Early power towers (such as the Solar One plant) utilized steam as the heat transfer fluid; current designs (including Solar Two, pictured) utilize molten nitrate salt because of its superior heat transfer and energy storage capabilities. Individual commercial plants will be sized to produce anywhere from 50 to 200 MW of electricity. What are the Benefits of Power Towers? Solar power towers offer large-scale, distributed solutions to our nations energy needs, particularly for peaking power. Like all solar technologies, they are fueled by sunshine and do not release greenhouse gases. They are unique among solar electric technologies in their ability to efficiently store solar energy and dispatch electricity to the grid when needed even at night or during cloudy weather. A single 100megawatt power tower with 12 hours of storage needs only 1000 acres of otherwise non-productive land to supply enough electricity for 50,000 homes. Throughout the sunny Southwest, millions of acres are available with solar resources that could easily produce solar power at the scale of hydropower in the Northwest U. S. What is the Status of Power Tower Technology? Power towers enjoy the benefits of two successful, large-scale demonstration plants. The 10-MW Solar One plant near Barstow, CA, demonstrated the viability of power towers, producing over 38 million kilowatthours of electricity during its operation from 1982 to 1988. The Solar Two plant was a retrofit of Solar One to demonstrate the advantages of molten salt for heat transfer and thermal storage. Utilizing its highly efficient molten-salt energy storage system, Solar Two successfully demonstrated efficient collection of solar energy and dispatch of electricity, including the ability to routinely produce electricity during cloudy weather and at night. In one demonstration, it delivered power to the grid 24 hours per day for nearly 7 straight days before cloudy weather interrupted operation. The successful conclusion of Solar Two sparked worldwide interest in power towers. As Solar Two completed operations, an international consortium, led by U. S. industry including Bechtel and Boeing (with technical support from Sandia National Laboratories), formed to pursue power tower plants worldwide, especially in Spain (where special solar premiums make the technology cost-effective), but also in Egypt, Morocco, and Italy. Their first commercial power tower plant is planned to be four times the size of Solar Two (about 40 MW equivalent, utilizing storage to power a 15MW turbine up to 24 hours per day). http://www.iklimnet.com/save/solarpowertower.html

You might also like