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  (C) Daniel FriedmanEfficiency Curves of Types of Solar Collectors

This article discusses the relative efficiency of different types of solar collectors, including a comparison of the effectiveness of Unglazed flat plate solar collectors, single glazed flat plate solar collectors, double glazed flat plate solar collectors, conventional stationary solar collector, evacuated flat plate solar collector, advanced stationary solar collector, tracking parabolic trough solar collectors.

Graph of solar collector type efficiency curves (solar collector efficiency is on the vertical axis) at page top and accompanying text are reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss.

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Solar Collector Efficiency Comparisons

The question-and-answer article below paraphrases, quotes-from, updates, and comments an original article from Solar Age Magazine and written by Steven Bliss.

Comparing the Efficiency of Tracking, non-Tracking Solar Collectors & Flat-Plate vs Evacuated-Tube Solar Collectors

Question:

What is the percent difference in solar energy collecting efficiency between tracking and non-tracking solar collectors?

What is the percent difference in solar energy collection efficiency between flat-plate and evacuated-tube solar collector arrays?

-- Michael Jackson, Alliance OH

Answer:

  (C) Daniel FriedmanThe accompanying graph, from a publication of Canada's National Research Council, shows solar collector efficiency curves for three kinds of flat plate solar collector, two types of stationary concentrating solar collector, and a tracking parabolic-trough concentrating solar collector.

Solar collector efficiency is shown on the left vertical axis in the graph.

As you can see, differences in solar collector efficiency depend on the temperature range in which the solar collectors will be operating.

Unless you plan to use the solar collectors for high-temperature applications and are willing to pay for more complex solar equipment that will produce higher efficiencies, you may be better off with less expensive stationary flat-plate collectors.

(See "Rising Hopes for Vacuum Tube Solar Collectors", Solar Age 6/82.)

Below we include references to additional and current solar collector efficiency studies at Solar Collector Efficiency Study

The question-and-answer article about efficiency differences among different types of solar collectors provides historical solar collector efficiency data from the 1980's and, quotes-from, updates, and comments an original article from Solar Age Magazine and written by Steven Bliss.

The link to the original Q&A article in PDF form immediately below is provided by the above expanded/updated online version of this article.


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Citations & References

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