Solar panel unit and system for heating circulating air

Patent · Tue Sep 15 04:00:00 EDT 1981

OSTI ID:5778438

Butcher, H L

A solar panel unit for collecting solar heat and imparting it to circulating air has air flow directing means, desirably in the form of a perforated, corrugated baffle plate, sandwiched between a heat collector plate and a backing plate for passing air from one margin of the unit to an opposite margin thereof, with a peripheral wall enclosing the resulting heat collector chamber. Spaced from the collector plate, with a peripheral wall enclosing the resulting dead air space, is a transparent outer panel of glass or plastic for transmitting rays of the sun to the collector plate; and spaced from the backing plate, with peripheral and partition walls dividing the resulting space into air flow passages, is thermal insulation material. The collector plate is tightly secured against the baffle plate substantially at its midpoint and curves slightly therefrom toward its periphery, where it freely engages sealing pocket members that extend along lateral sides and ends of the unit, respectively, to form expansion slip joints peripherally of the unit and, together with special corner structure, to substantially isolate the insulating, dead air space from air flow. In the system, panel units are connected end-to-end so that the air flow passages thereof intercommunicate to provide ducts, and means are provided for introducing relatively cool air into one of the ducts and for removing heated air from another of the ducts. Each of the panel units has inlet ports along one margin thereof leading from the cool air duct into the heat collector chamber, and has outlet ports along an opposite margin thereof leading from the heat collector chamber into the warm air duct. The warm air is used to heat utility water and/or heat storage media before recycling as cool air.

• Assignee: IFI; EDB-82-038742
• Patent Number(s): US 4289117
• OSTI ID: 5778438
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
141000* -- Solar Collectors & Concentrators
AIR FLOW
AIR HEATERS
BAFFLES
CONTROL EQUIPMENT
DESIGN
DUCTS
ENERGY STORAGE
EQUIPMENT
FABRICATION
FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS
FLOW REGULATORS
FLUID FLOW
GAS FLOW
HEAT STORAGE
HEATERS
HEATING
SOLAR AIR HEATERS
SOLAR COLLECTORS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR HEATING
SOLAR SPACE HEATING
SOLAR WATER HEATING
SPACE HEATING
STORAGE
THERMAL INSULATION
WATER HEATING