Flat plate and evacuated tube collectors solar water heater system – a comparative study

Renewable energy for the sustainable energy application in the buildings are increasing day-by-day. The aim of this study is to compare flat plate and evacuated tube collectors system in solar water heating of urban building. The two types of solar water heater systems were designed and evaluated based on the requirements of the urban building dwellers. The F-chart method along with commercial software was used to study the performance efficiency of the solar water heater system at an operating temperature of 65 °C. An economic analysis was also carried out using the same tool for both types of collectors with the desired designed parameters. The performance efficiency results of flat plate and evacuated tube collector are 77 % and 67.3 %, respectively. The economic analysis showed that flat plate collector is cost-effective for the solar water heater system due to its steadiness and lower maintenance costs. Keywords: Thermal efficiency; Flat plate collector, evacuated tube collector; economic analysis; solar water heater syste