Durability of Polymeric Glazing and Absorber Materials

The Solar Heating and Lighting Program has set the goal of reducing the cost of solar water heating systems by at least 50%. An attractive approach to such large cost reduction is to replace glass and metal parts with less-expensive, lighter-weight, more-integrated polymeric components. The key challenge with polymers is to maintain performance and assure requisite durability for extended lifetimes. We have begun evaluation of several new UV-screened polycarbonate sheet glazing constructions. This has involved interactions with several major polymer industry companies to obtain improved candidate samples. Proposed absorber materials were tested for UV resistance, and appear adequate for unglazed ICS absorbers