Thermal performance analysis of a CPC solar collector array with series connection to the flat plate solar collector field in Sæby solar heating plant

A novel Compound Parabolic Collector (CPC) was developed and specially designed for operating in solar heating plants at the temperature range of 60 °C - 120 ºC. The prototypes of the collector were tested at Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in 2016. Four of the CPC collectors were then installed in series and connected to the flat plate solar collector field in Sæby solar heating plant in Denmark. The monitoring system was implemented for both the CPC collector array and a four flat plate collectors array in front. The thermal performance model was developed for both the CPC collector array and the flat plate collector array by using the QDT model and the tested collector parameters. The predicted annual thermal performance of both the CPC collector and the flat plate collector was calculated at different operating fluid temperatures under Denmark’s weather condition. The conclusion is that the annual thermal performance of the new CPC collector will be higher than the annual thermal performance of the flat plate collector if the operating mean fluid temperature is higher than 78 °C in theory, in practice if the temperature is higher than 55 °C.