Optimal tilt-angles of all-glass evacuated tube solar collectors

In this paper, a detailed mathematical procedure is developed to estimate daily collectible radiation on single tube of all-glass evacuated tube solar collectors based on solar geometry, knowledge of two-dimensional radiation transfer. Results shows that the annual collectible radiation on a tube is affected by many factors such as collector type, central distance between tubes, size of solar tubes, tilt and azimuth angles, use of diffuse flat reflector (DFR, in short); For collectors with identical parameters, T-type collectors (collectors with solar tubes tilt-arranged) annually collect slightly more radiation than H-type collectors (those with solar tubes horizontally arranged) do. The use of DFR can significantly improve the energy collection of collectors. Unlike the flat-plate collectors, all-glass evacuated tube solar collectors should be generally mounted with a tilt-angle less than the site latitude in order to maximize the annual energy collection. For most areas with the site latitude larger than 30 degrees in China, T-type collectors should be installed with a tilt-angle about 10 degrees less than the site latitude, whereas for H-type collectors without DFR, the reasonable tilt-angle should be about 20 degrees less than the site latitude. Effects of some parameters on the annual collectible radiation on the collectors are also presented. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.