Solar Thermal Air Collectors

Solar air heaters are mostly used for space heating and can be both glazed and unglazed.

Solar thermal air collectors. Flat plate collectors flat plate collectors are the most common and widely used style of solar therm al collector for domestic hot water applications. A solar thermal collector collects heat by absorbing sunlight the term solar collector commonly refers to a device for solar hot water heating but may refer to large power generating installations such as solar parabolic troughs and solar towers or non water heating devices such as solar air heaters. In fact special unglazed transpired collectors were developed for heating ambient air using the vertical façade of a building as a mounting surface. 1 these systems are also termed solar walls.

The design is very simply an insulated box with a absorber sheet welded to copper pipe that the heat transfer liquid circulates through. The price of solar thermal systems vary but usually you can count on to pay between 2 500 for a pool solar heat and from 7 700 for complete solar thermal installations. Solar thermal collectors have been used to heat liquid fluids water glycol ethanol and to heat ambient air. Solar thermal collectors are either non concentrating or concentrating.

They are among the most efficient and economical solar thermal technologies available and are mostly used in the commercial sector. Solar thermal air collectors.