National renewable energy lab develops low-cost, solar collector

The process of developing the low-cost solar collector in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is described. Investigations include both computer simulation and experiments. From this research, NREL concluded that material conductivity does not make a large difference in the heat exchanger effectiveness of transpired solar collectors for low-conductivity materials that would typically be used. The analysis demonstrated that it is possible to use low-cost, low-conductivity materials in collector applications and achieve performance that is comparable to one using aluminum collector panels. The ability to use low-cost materials without any degradation of performance should make this application practical worldwide. Transpired solar collectors are used in winter to supplement a building's heating system and have been very effective in reducing heating costs in northern climates. NREL has conducted extensive work on a type of solar air heating system called a transpired solar collector.