Performance Analysis of Solar Based Flat Plate Collector

This paper describes the performance analysis of solar based flat plate collector. Flat plate collector (FPC) is widely to heat water in the home for bathing, washing and heating, and can even be used to heat outdoor swimming pools and hot tubs. The Flat plate collector (FPC) is a kind of a heat exchanger which transforms solar radiation into heat energy which is then used to transfer the heat to the Fluid flowing through the pipe. The system is designed with dimensions 100*100cm in such a way the water flows from inlet to outlet through pipe of length as 14m with the serpentine configuration in order to have a steady flow of water through the pipe. The water flows through the pipe by natural circulation. The main components of FPC are Absorber Plate, Glazing Cover and Thermal Insulation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the optimum mass flow rate of water at the efficiency is maximum. The efficiency of the FPC decreases with an increase in mass flow rate of water. The test was conducted for three flow rates 0.5L/min, 1L/min and 1.5L/min. It was found out that the maximum efficiency is when the fluid flows at the rate of L/min because if the fluid flows slower then it gets more time to absorb the heat. A test setup is fabricated and experiments conducted to study these aspects under laboratory conditions.