Natural convection heat transfer in facade integrated solar concentrators

摘要

The use of facade (wall) integrated concentrating solar collectors is an area of developing interest within the field of energy-efficient building technology. One way of achieving such a device could be through the use of a static flat or parabolic reflector used in conjunction with a photovoltaic/thermal absorber and a vertical glazed aperture. However, to precisely predict the performance of such facade integrated collectors, it is essential to understand the heat losses from them. In general the thermal losses from these collectors can be calculated using existing relationships for flat plate solar collectors and fundamental heat transfer concepts.