Small-scale Concentrating Solar Thermal System Design

Abstract

In recent years, the growth of technology has caused the world energy consumption to skyrocket due to an increase in demand and an increase in available energy. Small renewable energy systems are often targeted for developing countries; however, there is a need for these systems in developed countries as well. Implementation of a renewable source of energy can reduce the level of energy poverty by providing an alternative means of obtaining energy and decreasing the cost of monthly energy bills. Currently small-scale thermal systems are commercially available for domestic hot water applications. This project tackles the problem of water heating by designing a solar concentrator that will work with and eventually replace residential water heaters. After assessing the fluid properties, a computer aided simulation to analyze the flow through the receiver for various geometries helped determine the physical design. From the flow simulations, the most reasonable internal geometry for the receiver is the single flow flat-plate design. The manufactured prototype can now be used to quantitatively model the efficiency of the receiver.