Subject: Re: Solar Collectors

From: [email-masked]
Date: 25 Mar 1997 05:38:18 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Di-Ren) says:
>
>Given that most solar collectors are in a fixed position, would a
>vertical corrugated collector surface increase or decrease efficiency?
>
>Robin
>

It depends on your latitude.  In reality, their is an optimum elevation
angle for a solar collector for each day of the year.  I have some info
on this in my article at
http://www.srv.net/opt/sunchrt.html

---

From: [email-masked] (Gene A. Townsend)
Date: 25 Mar 1997 04:05:02 -0700

>Robin

I built a solar collector a few years ago that was made of corrugated
galvanized steel and stood vertically.  It doubled as a night-time sky
radiator in the summer.

Corrugation increase the surface areas and their losses, so that will
reduce efficiency, but it does helps the stiffness of the structure.

I wanted to reduce solar collection in the summer, increase it in the
winter, and the east-west orientation of a vertical receiver does this
pretty well.  

The orientation has no effect on "efficiency", other than the
increased heat losses due to both surfaces being exposed to ambient,
rather than just one where the receiver is laid on a roof or other
structure.  Extra insulation on the back side is needed.

Also, the wind will place large forces on something like this if it is
very large, so consider this in the design.

Cheers,

Gene A. Townsend