Solar Thermal Systems Explained

A solar thermal system is a system that uses solar absorber panels installed commonly on the roof of a property to absorb the radiant heat directly from the sun, and using it to heat the hot water inside the property.

These solar absorber panels comprise of a network of pipes inside them containing water and antifreeze. This liquid is heated by the sun and then pumped from the solar absorber panel to a heat exchanger which is coiled inside the hot water cylinder. As a result of this, the warm mixture of water and antifreeze never comes into contact with the water in the tank, although, it does heat it up providing hot water just like a normal water boiler for showers, baths, and other activities.

Fundamentally, there are two types of solar thermal systems:

Passive & ActiveWhen heat builds up, a passive system requires no equipment to absorb the heat whereas an active system requires some way to absorb the heat and collect solar radiation for storage.

Solar thermal power plants are active systems, wherein which the concentrating solar thermal technology heat water or other thermic fluids by concentrating solar energy from a large surface to a smaller area using mirrors and lenses. The mirrors reflect and concentrate the sunlight, collecting that solar energy via receivers and finally converting it into heat energy. A generator is then used to produce electricity from this heat energy.

In this industry, substantial subsidies and financial support to user organizations are provided to promote the use of solar energy by the government.

Online performance monitoring systems are installed to not only fulfill major criteria for securing government subsidy for concentrated solar thermal systems but to also allow the users to measure the performance of these thermal systems frequently.

Sustainable development is only possible when industries get involved in business practices that are sustainable and are invested in the continuous development of technologies and products. One such product is the solar thermal concentrator manufactured by HMX, a business unit of A.T.E.

Developed in-house, the solar thermal concentrator provides process heat for several industrial and commercial purposes. It is fully automated based on moving-focus paraboloid concentrator technology automatically following the sun throughout its motion in the sky, reflecting and concentrating the sunlight into a receiver which is filled with water and mounted at the focal point of the concentrator, generating steam. This steam is used for various process applications, thereby reducing the importance of carbon-intensive fuels and directly influencing the bottom line.

Its key benefits include continuous remote monitoring of all the parameters of input solar energy and output thermal energy, online performance monitoring for comparison of technologies and performance of similar systems for different application and in different locations, role led authorized access to real-time data on portable devices, receiving email alerts on shading ring misalignment and monitoring the amount of fossil fuel saved and reduction in CO2 reduction

Other benefits such as no special skills required for operating these systems, attractive payback, in-built safety, and low maintenance cost are highly sought after.

A.T.E.'s unparalleled approach to connecting energy efficiency with renewable solar energy delivers the largest savings in carbon-intensive fuels and directly impacts the bottom-line, thus empowering customers to not only meet their business goals but those of sustainability as well.

K V Gopalakrishnan is a writer who has very good experience in writing articles & blogs. The writer has a flair for writing and he keeps on writing various articles and blogs related to the industry.