Thermal Solar Collector

Solar Thermal Technology is made of a tube collector, collection tank, controller panel and usually a boiler and/or heat pump. The tube collector is a vacuum tube that absorbs the UV light and turns it into heat

The following is some information on these items.

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The Collector

The collectors on a system is almost like the leaves on a plant. It is pointed toward where it will gain the most exposure from the sun and is collecting the solar radiation to create the thermal heat.

The figure above gives the process of how this transformation from solar energy to thermal energy happens. The glass tubes of the collector is made up of two tubes. The outside tube is clear while the inside tube is black. In between the two tubes is a vacuum. The black tube attracts the UV rays that are carrying the solar energy. Since it is energy, it can easily pass through the vacuum. Once the UV hits the black tube, that is when the solar energy is transformed into solar thermal heat. Heat cannot travel through a vacuum, so it is trapped inside the tube. The temperature inside the tube continues to build up and is conducted up the copper pipe to the manifold. Inside the manifold of the collector, this heat is transferred to a glycol mixture that is then taken to the storage tank.

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If there was a heart to the solar system, this tank would be it. The hot mixture from the collectors is pulled into this tank and passed through a heat exchanger. The heat is transferred from the hot mixture in the heat exchanger and into the water in the storage tank. That water can then be sent through a radiant floor system, a water coil, or a hot water heater for domestic hot water heat. The second heat exchanger is where a flash boiler would be hooked into for backup heat. The figure gives a cutaway of the tank and lists its parts.

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The Controller

If the storage tank was the heart, the controller (See Figure 1-4) is the brains. This device is what communicates to the system to tell it when to shut the primary solar system off and rely on the backup system until the solar system can get back up to temperature. This device is connected with sensors in the tank and collectors. It knows at all times what the temperatures are and when to start and stop the pumps.

Most generally, a solar system will need a backup device for times that the collector can’t meet its full load of heat due to very cloudy weather or at night when there is no sunlight at all. Because of this occurrence, for most installs that have gas available, a 95% efficient, modulating, wall-mounted boiler is used. For conventional, forced-air systems, a heat pump also might be added.

Courtesy of SolarAg Systems 1001 N Wayne St. Portland, IN 47371

FAQ

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Solar Tube Strength Test