The analysis of thermal performance of the flat-plate collector includes parameters such as solar intensity, ambient temperature and configuration of flat-plate collectors etc. In this research work, the effect of the parameters on thermal performance of glazed flat-plate solar collector was analyzed for water heating application in winter climatic condition. The flat-plate collector consists of the total surface area 2.23 square meter and the copper tubes are integrated beneath the absorber plate. The plate has a selective coating with high absorptivity of 92% and the heat transfer fluid flowing in the tubes is R-134a. In the work, evaluation of useful heat gain or collector efficiency has been done. It is based on steady state analysis and by calculating the thermal performance of liquid flat-plate collector. Results show that the flat-plate collector gives good performance and provide a desire quantity of hot water.

Dr. H. Chandra is Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, V. E. C. Lakhanpur, Sarguja University Ambikapur (CG) India, has got more than 100 publications in international, national journals and conferences to his credit. His area of research is energy conservation and environmental management options in thermal power plants.