The energy efficiency of a modified v-corrugated zinc collector on the performance of solar water heater (SWH)

Solar water heaters (SWH) are a low-cost method for generating hot water for various purposes. Therefore, this research focuses on investigating a modified V-corrugated zinc collector combined with an aluminum foil foam insulator and a 5 mm thick plywood base at the bottom. The experiments were conducted under hot climate conditions in the Central Java region of Indonesia. The effect of flow rate, with 120, 180, and 240 Lph, was compared and analyzed using passive and open systems. Data was retrieved at 10-min intervals from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The results showed that the highest energy efficiency of 50% was achieved at a flow rate of 240 Lph, with 40% and 34% energy efficiency at flow rates of 180 Lph and 120 Lph, respectively. Additionally, the highest collector efficiency was 61%. These findings suggested that higher flow rates were more efficient in SWH with V-corrugated zinc collectors. Therefore, it was recommended to use V-corrugated collectors due to their low production cost and ability to produce 50% energy efficiency. •A new configuration for SWH was proposed and the highest collector efficiency at 61%, was obtained at a flow rate of 180 Lph.•The higher flow rates are better for energy efficiency in SWH with v-corrugated zinc collectors than lower flow rates.•The application of a v-corrugated collector is recommended due to its ability to produce 50% energy efficiency with low cost.