 A solar collector is a device that collects

and/or concentrates solar radiation from

the Sun.

 Solar collectors transform solar radiation into

heat and transfer that heat to a medium
(water, solar fluid, or air).

 These devices are primarily used for active

solar heating and allow for the heating
of water
 Two type
1. Non concentrating or flat plate
collector
2. Concentrating solar collector
 Used to collect heat for space heating, domestic hot
water or cooling with absorption chiller
 temperature below 90 degree Celsius
 collect both direct and diffuse radiation
 A flat-plate collector consists of an absorber, a
transparent cover, a frame, and insulation.
 A transparent cover which may be one or
more sheets of glass or radiation transmitting plastic
film or sheet
 Usually an iron-poor solar safety glass is used as a
transparent cover, as it transmits a great amount of
the short-wave light spectrum.
 the transparent cover prevents wind and breezes
from carrying the collected heat away (convection)
 Together with the frame, the cover protects the
absorber from adverse weather conditions. Typical
frame materials include aluminium and galvanized
steel; sometimes fibreglass-reinforced plastic is used.
 Tubes, films, passages or channels are integral with
the collector absorber plate or connected to it, which carry
the water, air or other fluid
 The absorber plate, normally metallic or with a black
surface, although a wide variety of other material can be
used with the air heaters
 Insulation which should be provided at the back and
sides to minimize heat loss. glass,fibers,styro-foam are used
for this purpose.
 The insulation on the back of the absorber and on the side
walls lessens the heat loss through conduction.
 The container which enclose the other components
and protect from the weather.
 In FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS Sunlight passes
through the glazing and strikes the absorber plate,
which heats up, changing solar energy into heat
energy. ... Absorber plates are commonly painted
with "selective coatings," which absorb and retain
heat better than ordinary black paint.

Flat plate solar collectors divided in to two

 1. Liquid heating collectors
2. Air or gas heating collectors
 CONCENTRATING
SOLAR COLLECTOR
 A solar collector that uses reflective surfaces to
concentrate sunlight onto a small area, where it is
absorbed and converted to heat or, in the case of solar
photovoltaic (PV) devices, into electricity.

 Concentrators can increase the power flux of sunlight

hundreds of times.

 The principal types of concentrating collectors include:

compound parabolic, parabolic trough, fixed
reflector moving receiver, fixed receiver moving
reflector, Fresnel lens, and central receiver.
 A PV concentrating module uses optical elements
(Fresnel lens) to increase the amount of sunlight incident
onto a PV cell.

 Concentrating PV modules/arrays track the sun and use

concentrating devices to reflect direct sunlight onto the
solar cell to produce electricity directly.

 Concentrating solar collectors in Concentrated Solar

Power (CSP) facilities concentrate sunlight onto a receiver
where it heats a heat transfer fluid that subsequently
exchanges its absorbed heat to water to produce steam to
power a steam turbine-generator (STG) to produce
electricity.
 Concentrating collectors

focusing type Non focusing type

Line focusing point focusing

1.Parabolic trough collector
2.Mirror strip reflector
3.Fresnal lens collector
4.Flat plate collector with adjustable mirrors
5.compound parabolic concentrator
 The parabolic trough reflector is a solar thermal energy
collector designed to capture the sun’s direct solar
radiation over a large surface area and focus, or more
generally “concentrate it” onto a small focal point area
increasing the solar energy received by more than a factor
of two which means more overall heat per square meter of
trough.
 Concentrating solar collectors for residential applications
are usually a “U-shaped” parabolic trough that
concentrates the sun’s energy on an absorber heat tube
called a receiver that is positioned along the focal point
axis of the reflective trough.
 Parabolic Trough Reflectors or PTR, are made by
simply bending a sheet of reflective or highly
polished material into a parabolic shape called a
parabola. Since solar light waves essentially travel
parallel to each other, this type of solar collector can
be pointed directly into the sun and still achieve a
total focal output from all parts of the trough shaped
reflector as shown.
 parabolic trough reflectors use only
direct solar radiation to heat the receiver
tube as diffused solar radiation cannot be
focused onto the absorber making them
less effective when the skies are cloudy
or the sun is out of alignment.
 most concentrating collectors require some form of
mechanical equipment that constantly orients the
collectors towards the sun keeping the heat pipe absorber
at the correct focal point. This is achieved by using
a Tracking Solar Concentrator that aligns the trough with
the sun throughout the day, maximising the solar heat
gain.
 A number of plain or slightly curved(concave),mirror
strips are mounted on a flat base
 The angles of the individual mirrors are such that they
reflect solar radiation from a specific direction to the
same focal line.
 It utilizes the focusing effect of a Fresnel lens
 To be fully effective the Fresnel lens must be
continuously aligned with the sun in two direction, both
along and perpendicular to its length
 This is achieved by orienting the troughs in the north
south direction.
 The solar radiation is focused in to the absorber from the
top
 The rounded triangular trough serves only as a
container and plays no role in concentrating the solar
energy
 Receiver pipe: the receiver pipe of a parabolic line
focusing collector has the same general characteristic
as a flat plate collector
# Compound Parabolic Concentrators (CPCs) are
designed to efficiently collect and concentrate distant
light sources, with some acceptance angle.

# Compound Parabolic Concentrators

are critical components in solar energy
collection, wireless communication,
biomedical and defence research, or for
any applications requiring condensing
of a divergent light source.
 Flat mirrors are frequently used to increase the heat output
from flat-plate collectors.
 They are generally oriented in an east-west direction and
are mounted below and/or above the collector panels.
 The annual performance of a mirror-boosted system can be
improved by allowing periodic adjustments of the mirrors
alone or of the panel-mirror units.
 In order to Seasonal adjustments of
the mirrors suffice to maintain
acceptable values of the
concentration and there is relatively
little advantage in providing for
collector panel adjustments..
 A double-mirror system (adjustable
trough) provides higher
concentrations than a single-mirror
system for equal mirror area.
Adjustable trough configurations
with zero acceptance angle provide
higher annual average concentration
ratios than those with non-zero
acceptance angles.
What are the advantages & disadvantages of
concentrating collectors over flat plate
collectors?
ADVANTAGES

 1.Reflecting surfaces require less material in concentrating

collectors than in flat plate collectors.
 2.Absorber area is smaller in concentrating collectors. So
insulation intensity is greater in concentrating collectors
than flat plate collectors.
 3.Small area of absorber/unit is there in concentrating
collectors than in flat plate collectors.
 4.Little or no antifreeze is required in concentrating
collectors to protect absorber in a concentrator system.
 5.Because temperature attainable with concentrator
collector is high, amount of heat stored is larger in
concentrator collector.
 6.Concentrating collector is used for power generation
while flat plate collector is not used for power
generation.
 7.In solar heating & cooling, application high
temperature of working fluid is attainable.
DISADVANTAGES

 1.Non uniform flux on absorber is there in concentrating

collectors than in flat plate collectors. While in flat plate
collectors uniform flux is there.
 2.Additional optical losses occur in concentrating
collectors than in flat plate collectors.
 3.High initial cost is there for concentrating collectors.
Flat plate collectors are cheaper.
 4.Additional requirement for maintenance is required in
concentrating collectors than in flat plate collectors. While
in flat plate collectors, not much maintenance is required.
 5.Only beam component is collected in concentrating.
While in flat plate collectors , both diffused & beam
radiations are collected in concentrating collectors.

 6.It is necessary to have an absorber to track sun image

in concentrating collectors.
Among easiest and most popular to build and use

Lid of a cardboard box reflects light onto pots under glass

Advantage of slow, even cooking of large quantities of

food
Highly focused light and high temperatures

Cooks nearly as fast as a conventional oven

Costly and complicated to make and use – have to

turn frequently to follow the sun
Potentially hazardous-not recommended
 Sunlight is reflected off of multiple panels onto a pot
under a glass lid or in a bag
 Can be built quickly and at low cost
 Many different varieties
 Safe, inexpensive and easy to use
 Concentrates sunlight into a dark pot in a plastic bag
 Combines best of parabolic and box cookers
 Anyone can make one
 solar distillation divided in to two

1. Basin type

2. wick type solar still