Flat-plate solar-collector performance data base and user's manual
This manual provides the reader with a thorough understanding on the type of collector thermal performance information which is required in active system design and analysis. It also contains thermal performance test data on 109 commercially available solar collectors which were evaluated in a single, uniform test program, the Interim Solar Collector Test (ISCT) Program. In addition to recounting the ISCT program and its results the manual contains an introduction on the engineering and physics of a flat-plate solar collector operation. A step-by-step analysis of heat gains and losses is provided to help the reader understand both the source and applicability of the parameters used to describe collector thermal performance. A brief description of the engineering basis for the ASHRAE Standard 93-77 test procedure and the method are included. To demonstrate the sensitivity to variations of collector performance parameters of the annual output of representative solar heating systems, three sets of F-Chart (4.0) system performance predictions are given. Finally, a sensitivity analysis study is presented which considers the heat loss and optical gain parameters of flat-plate collectors, in terms of how they affect the overall solar heating system solar fraction.
- Research Organization:
- Sun Designs, Glen Moore, PA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-77CH00178
- OSTI ID:
- 5794201
- Report Number(s):
- SERI/STR-254-1515; ON: DE83011993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Understanding flat plate solar collector efficiency
Uncertainty in determining thermal performance of liquid-heating flat-plate solar collectors