Investigating the performance of an affordable parabolic dish collector with double glass vacuum cavity cover

Parabolic dish collectors (PDC) are one of the most important ways to concentrate solar energy. In this study, the performance of a low-cost parabolic dish collector with high average output temperatures is investigated. The low-cost PDC has a 45 ° edge angle and a circular receiver. A vacuum double-glazed cavity is used to keep heat inside the receiver and reduce the rate of heat losses. On clear and cloudy days, tests were conducted with thermal oil as a heat transfer fluid (HTF) to analyze the performance of the PDC. The results show that the change in temperature of the heat transfer fluid between the open and closed ends of the cavity receivers affected the receiver heat gain, thermal efficiency, and exergy efficiency. It was also found that the HTF has the highest exit temperature of 221 °C, with an average radiation intensity of 1032 W/m2. With 48.4 % thermal efficiency and 9.1 % exergy efficiency, the results showed the best performance. When it came to total efficiency, PDC showed its highest value of 46.2 % at 13:17 p.m. on January 4th, 2024. •A solar dish collector with a conical absorber is investigated experimentally.•Low-cost reflective materials were utilized for solar reflectors.•Thermal oil is examined at various mass flow rates and days.•The heat transfer fluid reached a maximum temperature of 221 °C.•The average thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency are 48.4 % and 24.9 %, respectively.