Five solar collectors were tested according to the BSE and ASHRAE test procedures and the results compared. All five collectors tested were modular, flat-plate, water-heating, and included single- and double-glazed designs with and without selectively coated absorbers. In both procedures, collector efficiency curves are determined. The ASHRAE procedure consists exclusively of outdoor testing whereas the BSE procedure requires a combination of outdoor and indoor testing (no irradiation) to determine the collector’s optical and thermal loss characteristics, respectively. During the indoor testing in this study, the environmental test conditions were controlled and regulated by use of specially built environmental simulators to investigate the effect of wind speed and “sky” temperature on the thermal loss characteristics of the collectors. The simulators provided stable uniform wind speeds in the range of 0 to 7.1 m/s across the collectors and sky temperatures above the collector ranging from ta (ambient-air temperature) to ta - 19 K.

Issue Section:
Research Papers
Topics:
Flat plates, Hot water heating, Solar collectors, Temperature, Testing, Wind velocity, Irradiation (Radiation exposure)
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Copyright © 1980
 by ASME
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