A solar collector for industrial and commercial applications

Many industrial and commercial applications are excellent candidates for solar energy systems because they need process heat during the entire year. A limited-tracking concentrating solar collector is designed specifically for these markets. It features five cycles of a half-parabola shape in a 3.0-m by 1.36-m light-weight module. It requires no tracking mechanism as it is easily realigned in seven positions to produce maximum performance throughout the year. The cost-effectiveness of this collector is being demonstrated by a 370-sq m array interfaced with a heat pump to provide process heating.