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Session 2633

Construction of a solar collector for domestic usage Ratan Kumar and Simeon Slayton Department of Engineering Technology University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203

Abstract

The following paper discusses the design of a solar collector that can be used for domestic purposes. The goal is to build a long life, low maintenance, economically feasible solar collector that can be manufactured from off-the-shelf products requiring little fabrication. This collector will be used as part of a residential heating system. The basic system consists of a parabolic reflector that focuses the heat from the sun onto a black pipe with water circulating in it. The water is stored in an insulated tank. When space heating is required, this same water is circulated through a radiator in the air handler of the conventional heating system. Air circulates through the radiator and warms the living space. The issues that are addressed are the design of the parabolic reflector, availability of solar energy, storage of the heated water, usage of the heated water, building construction, climate, load factor, and the return on investment.

Introduction

According to several estimates, at the present consumption rate, the world’s known oil reserves will be exhausted sometimes in the next century1. As we struggle to achieve responsible energy independence, we are faced with the task of maintaining balance between our short-term interests and the long-range consequences of our action. Although several energy sources have been tapped, each poses a different challenge and none offers a panacea to fulfill long term goals. The current energy sources are not perennial and have caused ecological disasters at several places. People are beginning to consider the world-wide impact of environmental degradation being caused by utilizing the current sources. As a result the quest for a cheap, long lasting and environmentally safe energy source goes on. Solar energy had been looked upon as a viable source of energy and interest in it is catching up. The public and industry demand for solar equipment has grown steadily over the past two decades. As solar energy technologies continue to be developed, costs will continue to fall and solar energy has the potential to become more competitive. If national concerns for environment and quality of life continues to increase, new opportunities for solar energy will be presented. In this paper the design of a solar collector, to tap the solar energy, and heat water for domestic purpose has been proposed. This collector is designed for use as a part of residential heating system. The demand for solar water heating started when Clarence Kemp first invented the solar water heater in 1891 and it was seen that within a decade one million homes and 300,000 pools in California were powered by solar heaters2. As such the solar water heating idea is nothing new but the design concept incorporated in this study is unique. In the following sections the authors describe the construction of a solar collector that can be constructed from off-the-shelf products requiring little fabrication. It is simple in design and can be built to supply partial needs. Expansion and improvements can be justified by proven results.

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Slayton, S., & Kumar, R. (1997, June), Construction Of A Solar Collector For Domestic Usage Paper presented at 1997 Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 10.18260/1-2--6466