Analysis of a solar collector using cellular alveolar polycarbonate for ecological and low temperature water heating systems

Abstract

This article presents the analysis of a new alternative for 
ecological heaters based on alveolar polycarbonate with eight 
millimeters of thickness as a flat solar collector without cover. 
The analysis is developed in a simple system which comprises 
two solar collectors and an automatic data acquisition stage 
that periodically provides the meteorological and system data 
of one month. For determining the utility and applicability of 
this type of solar collector, a comparison with a black body 
polycarbonate is performed. The resulting experimental data 
allows carrying out an energetic comparative analysis with 
respect to a commercial solar collector without a cover.