Avaliação experimental do desempenho térmico de um coletor solar do tipo placa plana

Abstract

More and more the world demands energy, and we are increasingly concerned about the environment preservation. These two factors combined lead us to produce energy from renewable sources and with even more efficient technologies. Among the renewable sources, solar energy has a great potential to meet the global needs due its great availability and environmental aspects. The generation of energy from the Sun can occur in the form of electricity or thermal, utilization and can be captured as thermal or electrical energy, depending on the solar collector model applied. Collectors that capture energy in the form of heat tend to have a lower cost than photovoltaic collectors, which generate electricity. Although thermal collectors have more restricted applications than photovoltaic collectors, their low cost makes them a more viable option for certain applications. This Work of Conclusion Course in Mechanical Engineering aims to experimentally evaluate the thermal efficiency of a commercial flat plate solar collector. The experimental tests were performed at the Solar Energy Laboratory (LabSOLAR/UTFPR/Ponta Grossa). With the solar collector positioned at a 25º slope, volumetric flow and temperatures data of the working fluid at the inlet and outlet of the equipment, as well as solar irradiation data, were collected. The average thermal efficiency of the flat plate solar collector was calculated at 68.6% ± 7.3%. These results are in agreement with the values provided by the solar collector manufacturer.