Finite Element Analysis of a Novel Building Integrated Solar Thermal Vacuum Flat Plate Collector for Water and Space Heating
Abstract
A novel solar thermal flat plate collector design is proposed which is based on a combination of elements from traditional flat plate collectors, evacuated tubes and compound parabolic concentrating collectors. The purpose of the proposed design is to achieve higher operating temperatures efficiently and increase the potential application for heating and cooling. The new design can potentially provide heat to charge a compact thermal storage unit at temperatures in the range of 150 to 200° C.