THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF EVACUATED TUBE AND FLAT PLATE SOLAR COLLECTORS IN NORDIC CLIMATE CONDITIONS

In this paper the results of the experiments of measuring the performance of evacuated tube and flat plate type solar collectors in Nordic climate conditions are presented. The measurements of the collectors of a given and equal gross surface area were performed in the test installation environment. While the azimuth of the collectors was preserved constantly by 180°, the vertical incline was varied in order to identify the most suitable value of the thermal performance. In addition, the comparison of the thermal performance of the two solar collector types under different climatic conditions was done. Also the year-round simulation of the collectors’ performance was possessed in PolySun environment. Based on the measurements and simulation results the cost benefit calculations of solar collectors were performed.