Transpired solar collector
A simple, highly efficient solar air heating system that can cut heating costs in industrial and commercial building has been recognized as one of the most important technological advances of the past year by Popular Science and R and D Magazine. The transpired solar collector was jointly developed by the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Conserval, a Canadian solar heating and conservation engineering company. The collector is a perforated sheet of dark metal that preheats outside air to increase air temperature by as much as 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Fans pull the preheated air through holes in the perforation and into the building`s ventilation system reducing the need for conventional heating. The transpired collector can be included in new construction or retrofitted in an existing structure as part of a south-facing roof or wall. The energy cost-savings potential of the transpired solar collector is substantial. The cost payback period for a new building system is approximately three years; a retrofitted system has a payback of six to seven years. NREL applied air flow and heat transfer research through computer modeling, simulations and wind tunnel testing. The result is a collector that captures roughly 80 percent of available solar energy -- a world record for solar air collectors. The system has no moving parts other than ventilation fans, needs little maintenance, and can be used for crop drying and other applications where outside air needs to be heated.
- OSTI ID:
- 99584
- Journal Information:
- Drying Technology, Vol. 13, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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A computer design model for transpired solar collector systems
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