Design and performance of multi-purpose vacuum solar collector

Design and fabrication of solar collectors with high performance of energy efficiency to convert solar energy to utility energy is vitally important. This article reports the results obtained from design, construction and investigation of the performance of a Combined Multi-Purpose Vacuum Solar Collector (CMPVSC). This collector consists of three sections: the vacuum section, the liquid section and the air section. In the present collector, it is capable of transferring heat to two flows (liquid and air) simultaneously and separate with the possibility of multipurpose applications. The CMPVSC is compared with the existing individual collectors and the effects of different parameters on the efficiency of this collector are examined. Experimental data indicate that high temperature and high performance with a 43% reduction in cost can be obtained using CMPVSC compared to two individual collectors. To increase the efficiency of the collector, triangular and rectangular channels in the air section have been used. The vacuum part is implemented to reduce heat losses. The effect of water inlet temperature, air flow rate, shape of air channel and vacuum part on the heat delivery by air and water have been investigated. Furthermore, as a matter of comparison of CMPVSC with the individual collector, there is a chance of obtaining highest temperature and efficiency with minimum cost and space requirements.