UNIT-III

Solar radiation

Solar radiation, often called the solar resource, is a general term for the
electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun. Solar radiation can be captured and
turned into useful forms of energy, such as heat and electricity, using a variety of
technologies. However, the technical feasibility and economical operation of these
technologies at a specific location depends on the available solar resource.

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Every location on Earth receives sunlight at least part of the year. The amount of
solar radiation that reaches any one spot on the Earth's surface varies according to:

 Geographic location
 Time of day
 Season
 Local landscape
 Local weather.

Because the Earth is round, the sun strikes the surface at different angles, ranging
from 0° (just above the horizon) to 90° (directly overhead). When the sun's rays are
vertical, the Earth's surface gets all the energy possible. The more slanted the sun's
rays are, the longer they travel through the atmosphere, becoming more scattered
and diffuse. Because the Earth is round, the frigid polar regions never get a high
sun, and because of the tilted axis of rotation, these areas receive no sun at all
during part of the year.

The Earth revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit and is closer to the sun
during part of the year. When the sun is nearer the Earth, the Earth's surface
receives a little more solar energy. The Earth is nearer the sun when it is summer in
the southern hemisphere and winter in the northern hemisphere. However, the
presence of vast oceans moderates the hotter summers and colder winters one
would expect to see in the southern hemisphere as a result of this difference.

The 23.5° tilt in the Earth's axis of rotation is a more significant factor in
determining the amount of sunlight striking the Earth at a particular location.
Tilting results in longer days in the northern hemisphere from the spring (vernal)
equinox to the fall (autumnal) equinox and longer days in the southern hemisphere
 during the other 6 months. Days and nights are both exactly 12 hours long on the
equinoxes, which occur each year on or around March 23 and September 22.

Countries such as the United States, which lie in the middle latitudes, receive more
solar energy in the summer not only because days are longer, but also because the
sun is nearly overhead. The sun's rays are far more slanted during the shorter days
of the winter months. Cities such as Denver, Colorado, (near 40° latitude) receive
nearly three times more solar energy in June than they do in December.

The rotation of the Earth is also responsible for hourly variations in sunlight. In the
early morning and late afternoon, the sun is low in the sky. Its rays travel further
through the atmosphere than at noon, when the sun is at its highest point. On a
clear day, the greatest amount of solar energy reaches a solar collector around solar
noon.

DIFFUSE AND DIRECT SOLAR RADIATION

As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, some of it is absorbed, scattered, and

reflected by:

 Air molecules
 Water vapor
 Clouds
 Dust
 Pollutants
 Forest fires
 Volcanoes.

This is called diffuse solar radiation. The solar radiation that reaches the Earth's
surface without being diffused is called direct beam solar radiation. The sum of
the diffuse and direct solar radiation is called global solar radiation. Atmospheric
conditions can reduce direct beam radiation by 10% on clear, dry days and by
100% during thick, cloudy days.

DISTRIBUTION

The solar resource across the United States is ample for photovoltaic (PV) systems
because they use both direct and scattered sunlight. Other technologies may be
more limited. However, the amount of power generated by any solar technology at
a particular site depends on how much of the sun's energy reaches it. Thus, solar
technologies function most efficiently in the southwestern United States, which
receives the greatest amount of solar energy.

FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR

A Flat Plate Collector is a heat exchanger that converts the radiant solar
energy from the sun into heat energy using the well known greenhouse effect. It
collects, or captures, solar energy and uses that energy to heat water in the home
for bathing, washing and heating, and can even be used to heat outdoor swimming
pools and hot tubs. For most residential and small commercial hot water
applications, the solar flat plate collector tends to be more cost effective due to
their simple design, low cost, and relatively easier installation compared to other
forms of hot water heating systems. Also, solar flat plate collectors are more than
capable of delivering the necessary quantity of hot water at the required
temperature.

Solar Flat Plate Collector on Roof

 A solar flat plate collector typically consists of a large heat absorbing plate,
usually a large sheet of copper or aluminium as they are both good conductors of
heat, which is painted or chemically etched black to absorb as much solar radiation
as possible for maximum efficiency. This blackened heat absorbing surface has
several parallel copper pipes or tubes called risers, running length ways across the
plate which contain the heat transfer fluid, typically water.
These copper pipes are bonded, soldered or brazed directly to the absorber
plate to ensure maximum surface contact and heat transfer. Sunlight heats the
absorbing surface which increases in temperature. As the plate gets hotter this heat
is conducted through the risers and absorbed by the fluid flowing inside the copper
pipes which is then used by the household.
The pipes and absorber plate are enclosed in an insulated metal or wooden
box with a sheet of glazing material, either glass or plastic on the front to protect
the enclosed absorber plate and create an insulating air space. This glazing material
does not absorb the suns thermal energy to any significant extent and therefore
most of the incoming radiation is received by the blackened absorber.
The air gap between the plate and glazing material traps this heat preventing
it from escaping back into the atmosphere. As the absorber plate warms up, it
transfers heat to the fluid within the collector but it also loses heat to its
surroundings. To minimize this loss of heat, the bottom and sides of a flat plate
collector are insulated with high temperature rigid foam or aluminium foil
insulation as shown.
Components of Liquid flat Plate Collector

A flat collector usually consists of the following components:

(i) Glazing, which may be one or more sheets of glass or other diathermanous
(radiation transmitting) material.

(ii) Tubes, fins or passages for conducting or directing the heat transfer fluid
from the inlet to the outlet.

(iii) Abserver plate which may be flat, corrugated or grooved with tubes, fins or
passages attached to it.

(iv) Header or manifolds, to admit and discharge the fluid.

(v) Insulation which minimizes heat loss from the back and sides of the
collector.
(vi) Container or casing which surrounds the various components and protects
them from dust, moisture etc.

These liquid flat plate collectors are potentially useful in supplying the low grade
thermal energy at temperature generally less than 100oC and may be used in
system for the supply of heated water for Domestic, Agricultural, Industrial
applications, Space heating and Cooling application.

Types of flat-Plate collectors

In flat plate collectors, the heat loss by convection is more important in the
determination of their performance. The convective heat loss may be decreased by
using double glazing, but the radiation reaching the absorber is reduced due to
double reflection. Hence, at low temperature where this loss is small, use of single
glazing gives a better efficiency than the double one while at higher temperature
difference the use of glazing is advisable for better performance. Fig Compares
the efficiencies of single and double glazing flat plate collector in different
temperature ranges.

Flat-plate collectors are basically divided into two categories according to their
use, (i) Water or liquid heaters and (ii) Air heaters and (ii) Air heaters. These
collectors meant for these uses are sub-divided as follows:
The schematic diagram of all these collectors, with single glazing are shown in Fig.
4.17. These absorber plates can be broadly classified into three basic types as
shown in Fig.4.18, depending on the extent of wetted surface area relative to the
absorbing surface area.
Type I : Pipe and in type, in which flows only in the pipe and hence has
comparatively low wetted area and liquid capacity, as shown in ig.4.18(a).

Type II : Rectangular or cylindrical full sandwich type in which both the wetted
area and the water capacity are high, as shown in Fig.4.18(b).

Type III : Roll bond type or semi-sandwich type, intermediate between types I and
II, as shown in Fig.4.18(c).
A brie comparative survey o the various types of absorber plates is given in Table.
The best choice of collector panel depends on the particular application. For low
temperature requirements, such as in warming swimming pools, the plastic, full
water sandwich panel may be the most appropriate choice. For domestic and
industrial applications, higher temperatures are required and therefore, higher
efficiency, realiability and long life are the main characteristics required. For such
applications, pipe and fin type panel may be more suitable.