SOLAR ENERGY

Module 3
 Topics to be covered
Solar Thermal Energy:

Stationary collectors- FPC- CPC- ETC- Sun tracking concentrating

collectors PTC- PDR- HFC Fresnel collectors-

Solar thermal power plants

Solar chimney power plant

Solar pond

Solar water heater

Solar cooker- Types- SODIS- Thermal energy storage- Solar cooling-

Limitations of solar thermal energy.
 SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTOR
Solar thermal collectors are special kind of
h e a t exchangers t h a t transform solar
radiati on energy to internal energy of t h e
t ransport medium.

The major c o m p o n e nt of any solar system is t h e

solar collector.

Collector is a device which absorbs t h e incoming

solar radiati on, converts it into heat, a n d
transfers this heat to a fl uid (usually air, water, or
oil)flowing through t h e collector.
The solar energy thus collected is carried from
the circulati ng fl uid either directly to the hot
water or space conditi oning equipment, or to a
thermal energy storage tank from which can be
drawn for use at night and/or cloudy days.
 Types of thermal Solar collectors

 Solar collectors are either Non-concentrating or

Concentrating
 In the Non-concentrating type, the collector area
(i.e., the area that intercepts the solar radiation) is
the same as the absorber area (i.e., the area
absorbing the radiation).
 In these types the whole solar panel absorbs light.

 Concentrating collectors have a bigger interceptor

than absorber
For domesti c/ industrial water heati ng
and space heati ng purposes the solar
thermal collectors are classified as..
1. Flat Plate Solar Collectors.
2. Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors.
 ? ? ?
to
ba ck
T hi nk
 Flat plate collector

 Flat-plate collectors, developed by Hott el and

Whillier in 1950.

 The most common type of solar collector which

are widely used for domesti c household hot-
water heati ng and space heati ng.

 Used for low temperature (0-100oC)

applicati ons
Flat plate collector
 Flat plate collector is basically a black surface that is
placed at a convenient path of a sun.
 They consist of..
o A dark fl at-plate absorber.
o A transparent cover t h a t reduces heat
losses, called GLAZING.
o A heat-transport fl uid (air, anti freeze or
water) to remove heat from t h e absorber.
o A heat insulati ng backing
o Flow passage.
o Beading
o Enclosure
 The size of the collector is 2m×1m.
 Thickness of the glass 3 mm to 4 mm
 Spacing between the absorber surface and the glass is 25
mm.
 The maximum temperature which extracted in the glass
is 85oC to 90oC
 Beading take care about the thermal expansion and
contraction.
 Glass wool is used as insulating material and it soaks
when the rain water enters.
 Rubber beading prevents the rain water to enter.
 Conduits are provided to circulate the water.
Absorber plate:

 It is usually made of copper , steel or plastic

 The surface is covered with a flat black material of high
absorptance.
 If copper or steel is used it is possible to apply a
selective coating that maximizes the absorptance of
solar energy and minimizes the radiation emitted by
plate
 Absorber plates are commonly painted with
"selective coatings," which absorb a n d retain heat
bett er t h a n ordinary black paint.
 Absorber materials
Material Absorptance Emittance Break down Comments
temparature
() ()
(°C)
Slicone
binder ,
Black silicon Stable at
paint
0.86-0.94 0.83-0.89 350 high
temperature

Patinates
Black copper with
over copper
0.85-0.9 0.08-0.12 450
moisture
Black Stable at high
chorome over 0.92-0.94 0.07-0.12 450 temperatures
nickel
Flow passage:

 The flow passages conduct the working

fl uid through the collector.

 If the working fl uid is a liquid , the flow

passage is usually a tube that is att ached
to or is a part of absorber plate.

 If the working fl uid is air , the flow pass

Cover plate:

 To reduce convective and radiative heat losses

from the absorber.
 One or two transparent covers are generally
placed above the absorber plate.
 They usually be made from glass or plastic
 Cover plate materials
Polyethylene Fiberglass
Polyvinly
Test terephthatalet Polycarbonate rein forced
floride plastics
or polyster
Solar
Transmission, 92-94 85 82-89 77-90
%
Maximu
operating
110 100 120-135 95
temperature °
C

Thermal
Expansion 43 27 68 32-40
Coefficient

Thickness, mm 0.1 0.025 3.2 1.0

Length of life, In 5 years 95%

4 - 7-20
years retains
Insulation:
 These are some materials such as fiberglass and they
are placed at the back and sides of the collector to
reduce heat losses.
Enclosure:
 A box t h at the collector is enclosed in holds the
components together, protect t h e m from
weather, facilitates installati on of the collector
on a roof or appropriate frame.
Flat-plate collectors facing are facing south at fixed tilt
To optimize performance in the winter, the collector
can be tilted 15 ° greater than the latitude;
To optimize performance in the summer, the collector
can be tilted 15 ° less than the latitude
These trackers pivot on their Tracking the sun in both
single axis to track the sun, azimuth and elevation,
facing east in the morning these collectors keep the
and west in the afternoon sun's rays normal to the
collector surface as
 COLLECTOR PERFORMANCE

 The thermal performance of a collector can be

calculated from a first-law energy balance.

 According to the first law of thermodynamics, for a

simple flat-plate collector an instantaneous steady-
state energy balance is :

• Useful energy gain (Qu) = energy absorbed by the

collector – heat loss to surroundings
• Absorbed energy = AC FR S
• Lost energy = AC FR UL (Ti-Ta)
where ;
AC = Collector area, m2
FR = Heat removal factor,
S = Absorbed solar radiation, w/m2
UL = Heat transfer loss coefficient, W/m2 °C
Ti = The mean absorber plate temperature, °C
Ta = The ambient temperature, °C.
 Qu
Collector 
A  I
 ASSUMPTIONS
 Performance is steady state.
 Construction is of sheet and parallel tube type.
 The headers cover a small area and can be neglected.
 There is no absorption of solar energy by covers
insofar as it affects losses.
 The headers provide uniform flow to the collector
tubes.
 There is one dimensional heat flow from the covers.
 There is one dimensional heat flow from the back
insulation.
 The covers are opaque to infrared radiation.
 There is negligible temperature drop through a cover.
 The sky can be considered as a blackbody for long
wavelength radiation at an equivalent sky temperature.
 Temperature gradients around the tubes can be
neglected.
 The temperature gradients in the direction of flow and
between the tubes can be treated independently.
 Properties are independent of temperature.
 Loss through front and back are to same ambient
temperature
 Dust and dirt on the collector are negligible.
 Shading on the collector absorber plate is negligible
 Evacuated tube collector

 The high vacuum inside the closed glass tube of the

evacuated tube collector is easier to maintain over a
long period of time than that in an evacuated flat
plate collector.
 Glass tubes can resist the ambient air pressure due
to their shape so that no supports are necessary
between the back and front sides.
 A metal absorber sheet with a heat pipe in the
middle is embedded inside a closed glass tube with a
diameter of a few centimeters.
 A temperature sensitive working medium such as
methanol is used inside the heat pipe.
 The sun heats up and vaporizes this heat pipe fluid.
 The vapors rises to the condenser and heat
exchanger at the end of the heat pipe.
 There, the vapour condenses and transfers the heat
to the heat carrier of the solar cycle.
 The condensed heat pipe fluid flows back to the
bottom of the heat pipe where the sun starts heating
it again.
 Concentrating collectors
 Concentrator = collector + receiver
 For instance, a working fluid at 500°C can drive a
conventional heat engine to produce mechanical work for
electricity generation.
 Even hotter temperatures (to ~2000°C) are useful for the
production of refractory materials in pure conditions.
 The aim is to collect isolation over a large area and
concentrate this flux onto a small receiver; in practice,
mirrors are used to concentrate the direct solar beam in
cloudless conditions.
 This purely depends on the Beam radiation.
 Types of Concentrating collectors

1. Parabolic trough system

2. Parabolic dish
3. Power tower or central receiver system
4. Stationary concentrating collectors
 1. Parabolic trough system/collector

 Parabolic troughs are devices that are shaped like the

letter “u”.
 The troughs concentrate sunlight onto a receiver tube
that is positioned along the focal line of the trough.
 Sometimes a transparent glass tube envelops the
receiver tube to reduce heat loss.
 Temperatures at the receiver can reach 400 °C and
produce steam for generating electricity.
 2. Parabolic Dish collector

 A parabolic dish collector is similar in appearance to a large

satellite dish, but has mirror-like reflectors and an absorber at
the focal point.
 It uses a dual axis sun tracker.
 A parabolic dish system uses a computer to track the sun and
concentrate the sun's rays onto a receiver located at the focal
point in front of the dish.
 In some systems, a heat engine, such as a Stirling engine, is
linked to the receiver to generate electricity.
 Parabolic dish systems can reach 1000 °C at the receiver, and
achieve the highest efficiencies for converting solar energy to
electricity in the small-power capacity range.
• Dish systems use dish-shaped parabolic mirrors as
reflectors to concentrate and focus the sun's rays
onto a receiver, which is mounted above the dish at
the dish center.
• A dish/engine system is a stand alone unit composed
primarily of a collector, a receiver, and an engine.
• It works by collecting and concentrating the sun's
energy with a dish shaped surface onto a receiver
that absorbs the energy and transfers it to the
engine.
• The engine then converts that energy to heat.

• The heat is then converted to mechanical power, in a

manner similar to conventional engines, by
compressing the working fluid when it is cold, heating
the compressed working fluid, and then expanding it
through a turbine or with a piston to produce
mechanical power.

• An electric generator or alternator converts the

mechanical power into electrical power.
 3. Power Tower system or central
receiver system
• A heliostat uses a field of dual axis sun trackers that direct
solar energy to a large absorber located on a tower.
• To date the only application for the heliostat collector is power
generation in a system called the power tower.
• A power tower has a field of large mirrors that follow the sun's
path across the sky.
• The mirrors concentrate sunlight onto a receiver on top of a
high tower.
• A computer keeps the mirrors aligned so the reflected rays of
the sun are always aimed at the receiver, where temperatures
well above 1000°C can be reached. High-pressure steam is
generated to produce electricity.
.
 Parabolic Trough Dish/Engine Power Tower

Size 30-320 MW 5-25 kW 10-200 MW

Operating Temperature 390/734 750/1382 565/1049

(ºC/ºF)

Annual Capacity Factor 23-50 % 25 % 20-77 %

Peak Efficiency 20% 29.4% 23%

Net Annual Efficiency 11-16% 12-25% 7-20%

Commercial Status Commercially Scale-up Demonstration AvailableDemonstratio

Prototype n

Technology
Development Risk Low High Medium

Storage Available Limited Battery Yes

Hybrid Designs Yes Yes Yes

 Stationary concentrating collectors
• Stationary concentrating collectors use compound
parabolic reflectors and flat reflectors for directing
solar energy to an accompanying absorber or aperture
through a wide acceptance angle.

• The wide acceptance angle for these reflectors

eliminates the need for a sun tracker.

• This class of collector includes parabolic trough flat

plate collectors, flat plate collectors with parabolic
boosting reflectors, and solar cooker.

• Solar cookers are used throughout the world,

especially in the developing countries
 Technology comparison
 Towers and troughs are best suited for large, grid-
connected power projects in the 30-200 MW size,
whereas, dish/engine systems are modular and can be
used in single dish applications or grouped in dish farms
to create larger multi-megawatt projects.
 Parabolic trough plants are the most mature solar power
technology available today and the technology most
likely to be used for near-term deployments.
 Power towers, with low cost and efficient thermal
storage, promise to offer dispatchable, high capacity
factor, solar-only power plants in the near future.
 Thermal Energy storage (TES)

 TES in various solid and liquid media is used for solar

water heating, space heating, and cooling as well as
high-temperature applications such as solar thermal
power.
 Important parameters in a storage system include
the duration of storage, energy density (or specific
energy), and the charging and discharging (storage
and retrieval) characteristics.

 The energy density is a critical factor for the size of a

storage system.
• The rate of charging and discharging depends on
thermophysical properties such as thermal
conductivity and design of the storage system.

• Thermal energy can be stored

 as sensible heat,
 as latent heat, or
 as the heat of chemical reaction (thermochemical)
• Sensible heat, Q, is stored in a material of mass m and specific
heat cp by raising the temperature of the storage material
from T1 to T2 and is expressed by
• Heat that causes a change in temperature in an object is called
sensible heat.

• The most common medium for storing sensible heat for use
with low- and medium-temperature solar systems is water.
• Water is cheap and abundant and has a number of particularly
desirable properties
• The quantity of heat stored is proportional to the temperature
rise of the material.
• Most common sensible heat storage materials are
water, organic oils, rocks, ceramics, and molten salts.

• Water is the standard storage medium for solar

heating and cooling systems for buildings today.

• For these systems, useful energy can be stored below

the boiling point of water.

• Water has the highest specific heat value of 4190

J/kg°C.
 Advantages Disadvantages
• Abundant, low cost • High vapor pressure
• Non-toxic • Difficult to stratify
• Not combustible • Low surface tension, leaks
• Excellent transport easily
properties • Corrosive medium
• High specific heat • Freezing and consequent
• High density destructive expansion
• Good combined storage • Non isothermal energy
medium and working fluid delivery
• Well-known corrosion
control methodology
 Solar Ponds

 Normal ponds receive sunlight a part of which is reflected

at the surface, a part is absorbed and the remaining is
transmitted to the bottom.
 Due to this the lower part gets heated up and the density
decreases as a result of which it rises up and convection
currents are set up.(As a result, the heated water reaches
top layer and looses its heat by convection and
evaporation).
 A natural or artificial body of water for collecting and
absorbing solar radiation energy and storing it as heat.
 Thus a solar pond combines solar energy collection and
sensible heat storage.
 They are large shallow bodies of water that are arranged so
that the temperature gradient are reversed from the
normal.
 This allows the use for collection and storage of solar
energy which may under ideal conditions be delivered
at temperature 40-50 C above normal.
 It can be use for various applications, such as
process heating, water desalination, refrigeration,
drying and power generation.
• Latent Heat Storage: Thermal energy can be stored
as latent heat in a material that undergoes phase
transformation at a temperature that is useful for the
application.
• If a material with phase change temperature Tm is
heated from T1 to T2 such that T1 < Tm < T2, the
thermal energy Q stored in a mass m of the material
is given by
• Thermochemical Energy Storage: Thermochemical energy
can be stored as heat of reaction in reversible chemical
reactions.

• In this mode of storage, the reaction in the forward direction

is endothermic (storage of heat), while the reverse action is
exothermic (release of heat).

• The amount of heat Q stored in a chemical reaction depends

on the heat of reaction and the extent of conversion as given
by Equation
 Solar Techniques

Active solar techniques Passive solar techniques

 Orienting a building to the
 The use of photovoltaic Sun,
systems,  selecting materials with
 concentrated solar power, favorable thermal mass or
and light-dispersing properties,
 solar water heating to and
harness the energy.  Designing spaces
that naturally circulate air.
 Use of Solar energy

1. Solar Thermal Energy:

Converts solar radiation in thermal heat energy
Active Solar Heating
Passive Solar Heating
Solar Thermal Engine
2. Solar Photovoltaics
Converts solar radiation directly into electricity
 Solar Thermal Energy System

• The basic purpose of a solar thermal energy system is

to collect solar radiation and convert into useful
thermal energy.
• The system performance depends on several factors,
– availability of solar energy,
– the ambient air temperature,
– the characteristic of the energy requirement, and
– especially the thermal characteristics of solar
system itself.
• Active systems consist of
components which are to a
large extent independent of
the building design
• Often require an auxiliary
energy source (Pump or
Fan) for transporting the
solar energy collected to its
point of use.
• Active system are more
easily applied to existing
buildings
• Using active solar heating involves heating air, water, or creating
electricity with photovoltaic (PV) panels.

• The panels should sit on your roof or on a sunny wall where they
can collect heat and generate electricity to run a heat pump or
power the blower fan of a gas furnace.

• The trapped air gets hot and the collector either blows the air
indoors with an inline fan or uses the heat’s convective properties
to enter your home.

• Hydronic systems contain liquid inside an enclosed panel,

absorbing solar heat and either sending it through a radiant
heating system or a heat exchanger.
• Passive systems collect
and distribute solar
energy without the
use of an auxiliary
energy source.
• Dependent on building
design and the
thermal characteristics
of the material used.
Passive Space Heating Systems consists of
 Collector—windows, walls, and floors
 Storage—walls and floors, large interior masses
(often these are integrated with the collector
absorption function)
 Distribution system—radiation, free convection,
simple circulation fans
 Controls—moveable window insulation, vents both
to other inside spaces and to ambient
 Backup system—any non solar heating system
• The best way to take advantage of passive heating is to use
materials with a high thermal mass.
• While sunshine can warm the air in your home, air itself has a
low thermal mass. Some materials that can better capture
heat include masonry products like ceramic tiles, stone,
bricks and concrete.
• These materials absorb heat readily, and once the sun sets,
they can radiate what they’ve stored.
• Since the sun is low in the sky during the winter, using your
windows to warm your home is an effective way to reduce
some reliance you have on your heating system.
• Keeping your window coverings on south-and west-facing
windows open is the best way to utilize passive heat.
 Solar Photovoltaics

• There are only two methods to generate significant

electric power

– The first is electromagnetic dynamic generation.

– The second method is photovoltaic generation with

no moving parts using solar cells (technically
photovoltaic cells), which produce electricity from the
absorption of electromagnetic radiation, especially
light, predominantly within semiconductor materials
• Photovoltaic generation of power is caused by photons of
electromagnetic radiation separating positive and negative
charge carriers in absorbing material.
• If an electric field is present, these charges can produce a
current in an external circuit
Components of Solar Photovoltaics system
Components of Solar Photovoltaics system
 Applications

Lighting system: Bus stop lighting, telephone booth lighting,

billboard lighting, parking lot lighting, indoor and outdoor
lighting and street lighting, etc.

Agriculture: Water pumping, agricultural products fumigator,

thrashing machines and water sprayer, etc

Water pumping: Consumption, public utility, livestock watering,

agriculture, gardening and farming, mining and irrigation, etc.
 Battery charging system: Emergency power system, battery
charging center for rural village and power supply for
household use and lighting in remote area, etc.

Health center: Refrigerator and cool box for keeping medicines

and vaccines and medical equipment, etc.

Communication: Air navigational aid, air warning light,

lighthouse, beacon navigation aid, illuminated road sign,
railway crossing sign, street lighting and emergency telephone,
etc
Cattle: Water pumping, oxygen filling system for fish-farming
and insect trapped lighting, etc
 Solar distillation/ Desalination
• Solar distillation is the use of solar energy to evaporate
water and collect its condensate within the same closed
system.
• Solar desalination is the process of removing salt from
sea water.
• Solar still is a device to desalinate impure water like
brackish or saline water.
• It is a simple device to get fresh distilled water from
impure water, using solar energy as fuel, for its various
applications in domestic, industrial, and academic
sectors.
 Solar Stills have got major advantages over other
conventional Distillation/water purification/
de-mineralization systems as follows:
• Produces pure water
• No prime movers required
• No conventional energy required
• No skilled operator required
• Local manufacturing/repairing
• Low investment
• Can purify highly saline water (even sea water)
Solar still
Solar Drying
 Solar Drying
• It is a process used for to preserve food, a natural
convection drying procedure, as the air movement is
due to density differences

• Useful for energy conservation

• Improves quality of product

• Protests environment

• Occupies less area

Solar Drying
 Next-generation solar modules

• Several kinds of thin-film solar modules are available or under

development.

• Their manufacture uses about one per cent of the silicon needed to
make a crystalline silicon module, but their conversion efficiency
is only in the six per cent range.

• They are flexible, lightweight and durable, and can be bonded

directly onto curved surfaces, including glass, stainless steel or
plastic.

• However, they can degrade at a faster rate than crystalline silicon,

reducing the lifespan.
• Cadmium-telluride thin-film modules are the
second-most common photovoltaic (PV) technology in the wo
rld
.

• They currently represent five per cent of the world market.

• They can be manufactured quickly and inexpensively. Lab

tests show their conversion efficiency as high as 22.1 per cent.

• Many concerns exist about the chemistry of these modules

since cadmium is a well-known pollutant. It can be
toxic to humans and plants and animals.
Some typical applications of the Solar Energy
Solar cooker
Solar cooker