A flat plate collector collects its heat on a flat plane and this heat is then transferred to the hot water tank, normally through copper pipes. It doesn’t concentrate the sun’s rays by reflecting and concentrating the radiation, as with an evacuated tube. It has a toughened plastic exterior which traps the heat and insulates the plate, giving great efficiency and durability. It can be used for retrofit, closed-loop and open-loop systems and is probably the most popular collector type. It is basically an insulated box that contains an absorber, and is glazed for efficiency.
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Cross section of a flat plate collector
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia) |
