ABSTRACT
It was evaluated the thermal performance of a flat solar collector built in thermoplastic in actual operating conditions, recording the temperatures of inlet and water outlet plate by four distinct flows of water: 0.026 kg s-1, 0.04 kg s-1, 0.054 kg s-1 and 0.068 kg s-1. The tests were performed in the Laboratory of Thermodynamics and Energy, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering of Unicamp. Based on the values of water temperature at the inlet and outlet plates, were calculated values of thermal power [W m- 2]. The highest daily average thermal power (753 W m-2) was obtained for the flow of 0.054 kg s- 1. For higher flow (0.068 kg s-1) thermal power was similar to that obtained for the flow 0.04 kgs-1 (715 W m-2), showing the existence of a great flow operation.
solar heating; thermal efficiency; flat solar collector; water flow
