Low and medium temperature solar thermal collector based in innovative materials and improved heat exchange performance

A low and medium temperature solar thermal collector for economical supply of heat between 40 and 90 °C has been developed. It is based on solar concentrating systems, heat transfer optimization and substitution of metallic materials by plastic ones. The basic concept is the integration of a flat absorber strip inside semicircular reflector channels in contact with heated water without pressurization. This collector is intended to be more efficient and cheaper than what actual commercial collectors usually are so that the access to a clean and renewable energy would be more quickly redeemable and its use more effective during its life cycle, expanding its common application range. The substitution of traditional materials by surface treated Aluminum with TiNOx for the absorber and chromed thermoformed ABS for the reflector simplifies the production and assembly process. finitive prototype has an aperture area of 0.225 m2. It was tested in Zaragoza (Spain) and the accumulated efficiency was between 41% and 57%, and the instantaneous efficiency reached 98% depending on the weather conditions. As all trials were made in parallel with a commercial collector, in several cases the performance was over the commercial one.