Solar Thermal Energy

Using the sun to

heat water

The simplest solar

technology

Solar Wonders, ©2007 Florida Solar Energy

 Solar thermal
Solar thermal system provides thermal energy for various
process.
In regions of cold climates a large amount of low grade
thermal energy is required to heat air for comfort and hot
water for washing, cleaning and other domestic and industrial
needs. Various industrial surveys show that up to 24% all
industrial heat is consumed for heating fluids to a moderate
temperature. Thus, solar energy is best suited for low grade
thermal application. Even in high temperature heating
application, a significant amount of fuel can be saved by using
solar energy for preheating (up to above 180 degree Celsius).
 Solar Thermal
How do solar thermal systems work?
Solar thermal systems collect heat from daylight
onto a collector (generally a solar panel) and
generate heat which is transferred to water
to generate hot water.

Different types of solar thermal systems

Evacuated tubes Flat plate Unglazed solar collector

 Overview of Solar Thermal Systems
• Solar thermal systems convert sunlight to heat
• Categorized by reflector/collector types
a. uses lens; regular or Fresnel
b. Flat mirror (possibly many of them)
c. Parabolic/cylindrical: single axis forms
“trough”
d. Paraboloidal: axis of revolution forms
“dish”
e. Spherical: approximates paraboloid, but
focus can move to track sun

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 Solar Collector
• Solar Thermal is a clean, highly efficient means of
using renewable energy from the sun to provide hot
water for domestic, commercial and industrial
process .
• In simple terms, if you place a container full of liquid
in the garden on a sunny day, in a short time the
contents of the container become warm.
• Solar collectors work in much the same way, but are
very efficient.
 Types of solar collectors
Indicative
Absorber Concentration
Motion Collector type temperature
type ratio
range (°C)
Flat plate collector (FPC) Flat 1 30-80
Stationary Evacuated tube collector (ETC) Flat 1 50-200
1-5 60-240
Compound parabolic collector (CPC) Tubular
5-15 60-300

Single-axis Linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) Tubular 10-40 60-250

tracking Parabolic trough collector (PTC) Tubular 15-45 60-300
Cylindrical trough collector (CTC) Tubular 10-50 60-300

Two-axes Parabolic dish reflector (PDR) Point 100-1000 100-500

tracking Heliostat field collector (HFC) Point 100-1500 150-2000
Note: Concentration ratio is defined as the aperture area divided by the receiver/absorber area of the collector.

TEI Patra: 3-18 July 2006 Intensive program: ICT tools in PV-systems Engineering
Processes at a flat-plate collector
Principle of an evacuated tube collector with heat pipe; view from top
 Parabolic Trough

The largest ‘solar thermal-electric’ installation of its kind in the world,

the Luz project in California’s Mojave Desert, has a peak output of some
350 megawatts and occupies several square kilometers of land
 Types of Solar Water Heating Systems

• Flat-plate collector
– Glazed flat-plate collectors are insulated, weatherproofed boxes that
contain a dark absorber plate under one or more glass or plastic covers.
Unglazed flat-plate collectors; typically used for solar pool heating,
have a dark absorber plate, made of metal or plastic, without a cover or
enclosure.
• Integral collector-storage systems
– Also known as ICS or batch systems, they feature one or more black
tanks or tubes in an insulated, glazed box. Cold water first passes
through the solar collector, which preheats the water. The water then
continues on to the conventional backup water heater, providing a
reliable source of hot water. In cold winter climates these systems must
be drained to avoid freezing.
• Evacuated-tube solar collectors
– They feature parallel rows of transparent glass tubes. Each tube
contains a glass outer tube and metal absorber tube attached to a fin.
The fin's coating absorbs solar energy but inhibits radiative heat loss.
These collectors are used more frequently for U.S. commercial
applications.
Solar Water Heater
 Rooftop Heaters
Thermosyphon units
place the storage tank
above the panels, and
heated water rises into
the tank.
Cooler return water
flows from the tank to
the bottom of the
collectors to enter at the
cold end.
No pump is needed to
circulate the water.

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 Solar Ponds
● Fresh water
floats on top of
salt water
● Solar heating of
the brine raises
its temperature
to 85°C (185°F)
● A Rankin Cycle
engine turns a
generator to
drive the utility
grid with up to
70 kW

This El Paso solar pond is run by the Univ. of Texas

 Food Dryers
• Heated air passes over the food →
drying the moisture and preserving
it
• Separate trays allow keeping fruits
or nuts of the same dryness
together for processing

● The glass or plastic top

allows sunlight in but
reflects infrared energy
back onto the food
● The food is in the thick end
of the box
 Solar Coffee Bean Dryers
• Coffee is normally
dried on open tables
in the sun
• These solar dryers
were built to speed
the process
• Heat retention
increases the inside
air temperature
• Materials are
inexpensive and
local workers can
build the driers

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 Residential Applications
• Solar Building Heating
• Solar Cooling
• Solar Hot Water
• Solar Day Lighting
There are many commercial as well as
residential uses of solar water heating.
The rooftop solar
collectors on this
office building
provide hot water.
Solar water heating is
one of the oldest and
most reliable
renewable energy
technologies.

17
Solar Wonders, ©2007 Florida Solar Energy
Center
 A Paraboloidal Solar Cooker

This massive
servotracker unit was
originally developed at
Sandia and later given
to the local Renewable
Energy Society
An oven area at the
back can cook three
pans of cookies
A twin unit was shown
at the 2004 MREA Fair
in WI

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 Economic and Environmental Benefits

• Creation of jobs for both construction and operation

• Increase in state and local tax revenues
• Increase in gross state output
 Conclusion: Solar Thermal
• Solar thermal systems are cost effective at low temperatures
for water heating or cooking
• Water heaters are energy savers, but initial cost dissuades
many from using them
• Power tower electricity cost is at $6/W peak, too high to
compete with PV power
• Power towers aren’t likely to be economically practical for
some time
• Solar dryers, cookers, and ovens are relatively inexpensive
and available for remote cooking.

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 Solar Lighting

• Day lighting systems collect

and distribute sunlight to
provide interior illumination.
• Hybrid solar lighting is an
active solar method of
providing interior illumination.
• Solar thermal technologies can
be used for water heating,
space heating, space cooling
and process heat generation
• Solar hot water systems use
sunlight to heat water.
 Water Treatment
• Solar distillation can be used to
make saline or brackish water
potable
• Solar water disinfection (SODIS)
involves exposing water-filled
plastic polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) bottles to
sunlight for several hours
• It is recommended by the World
Health Organization as a viable
method for household water
treatment and safe storage
• Solar energy may be used in a
water stabilisation pond to treat
waste water without chemicals or
electricity.
 Cooking
• Solar cookers use sunlight for
cooking, drying and pasteurization.
They can be grouped into three
broad categories: box cookers, panel
cookers and reflector cookers
• A basic box cooker consists of an
insulated container with a
transparent lid.
• Panel cookers use a reflective panel
to direct sunlight onto an insulated
container and reach temperatures
comparable to box cookers.
• Reflector cookers use various
concentrating geometries (dish,
trough, Fresnel mirrors) to focus
light on a cooking container.
The Solar Bowl in Auroville, India,
Environmental Effects of Solar Energy
• Carbon Emissions
• Renewable Energy

• Abundant Components

• Cadmium- Cadmium is used in cadmium telluride solar cells as a

semiconductor to convert solar energy into electricity. Though used in

very small amounts, it is extremely toxic and can build up in a given
ecosystem if it isn't monitored.

• Space Considerations
Thank You