by Walter Hull

We use the words thermal solar power to describe any system designed to convert solar radiation into thermal energy. It is one of the major players in the solar power market and has huge untapped potentials. Thermal solar power can be used in as many ways as you can think. Designs exist from heating up your hot water tanks, to industrial steam generation and everything in between. Many of these systems are attractive because of their low cost and simplicity. For small scale applications, thermal solar power is used in the home. The heat is used to maintain hot water tanks, or is stored in the floors or walls of our buildings. There are other good uses for thermal solar power which we expect to increase in years to come. One is pebble bed heat exchangers, which act as a thermal storage bank for converted heat. This gives us some system capacity and operating flexibility. These pebble bed heat exchangers can be designed into your floors, walls, workshops, or other places around the home. They can be used for household heating, greenhouses, saunas, and as air driers for clothes. We had one design whereby a user wanted to heat up a nesting area in their chicken coupe! The typical operating temperatures for a thermal solar power system will range from 120F to 180F. We have technologies to boost these temperatures from 200F to 350F. Industrial grade technologies can achieve temperatures in excess of 700F. Most of us with fall in the hundred degree category, but for the tinkerers, mechanics, and home enthusiasts we may want to push 300 degrees for our special applications. Solar collectors are designed to achieve a certain operating temperature. Flat plate and evacuated tube collectors are very effective at lower system temperatures. Parabolic trough and concentrating collectors are required for higher system temperatures. The solar collector is quite possibly the most important component in your thermal solar power system. It is the thermodynamic engine and should be selected thoroughly and carefully. The lifeblood of the thermal solar power design is the circulating fluid. The circulating fluid is heated in the solar collector, and then pumped to all the system users. This fluid is typically oil, glycol, or water which is matched to the system temperatures and equipment in use. Anyone seriously interested in energy independence should start with thermal solar power technology. The components are simple and inexpensive. If you could identify your climate as having reasonable amounts of Sun, then thermal solar power is encouraged to the fullest extent. Thermal power systems are typically less expensive than solar power electricity, and can create household hot water and heat reliably. With the addition of pebble bed storage and higher operating temperatures, then the amount of potential uses suddenly becomes many. With the markets of sustainability re-growing their roots we expect to see a variety of new designs and installations in years to come.

Related posts:

1. Thermal Storage Banks and Thermal Solar Power
2. What Is A Solar Thermal Energy
3. Solar Power Tracking Systems
4. The Solar Thermal Energy Storage
5. How Can Solar Thermal Electric Energy Be Used?
6. The Essentials About Solar Water Heating Systems For Homes
7. Using Solar Energy To Produce Thermal Energy For Heat
8. Is Solar Thermal Energy Generation Effective?
9. Solar Energy – Residential home Solar Power Systems Functions
10. A Look At The Many Advantages Of Solar Thermal Energy

Comments are closed.