Flat Plate Solar Collector Materials (and Designs with an Economic Methodology for Optimizing Collector Design)

The desirability of specific materials and designs for conventional flat-plate solar collector components is considered. Then a methodology for choosing the most economic component is presented, consisting of a computer simulation and a rate-of-return analysis. The effect of rising conventional fuel costs is examined. Examples of using the methodology are given, based on Southern California climatic and user-demand conditions. Selective absorber-plate coatings and film inner glazing are shown to be economic, yielding a rate-of-return of 23 percent and 29 percent, respectively