Optimization of Passive Flat Plate Solar Thermal Collector

Abstract

Solar flat plate collector with a triple-glazed cover was designed and constructed using locally available materials. The design
was an upgrade of the existing double-glazed flat plate collector available at Sokoto Energy Research Center, Sokoto. The solar
energy penetrates through the glass cover and is received by the absorber plate, which is coated black in order to absorb as much
thermal energy as possible. The heat energy supposed to escape the collector after received in the collector is then trapped by the
glass cover of up to three layers which serve as a good insulator, thereby reducing the heat loss. Some design parameters were
done considering the geographical location of the test site. The collector has a dimension of 90 cm X 100cm, poly urethane foam
was used for insulating the collector, the absorber plate was painted with a black dull paint with the emissivity of 0.95. The
collector was able to heat up to a temperature of 55.9 0C, and the system efficiency was 14 % which is much better than the conventional flat plate collector with double glazing whose efficiency was 11.1 percentage.