Abstract
The Water-Trickle solar collectors, developed by Dr. H.E. Thomason in the U.S., are said to be cheaper than the ordinary Flat-Plate collectors. But, due to the higher heat loss, caused by the mass transfer between the water and the glass, the collector efficiency of that type is somewhat lower than that of the flat-plate types, especially in the higher temperature range. So, we developed a new Water-Trickle collector in which the channels of the water passes are covered mechanically with the cover plates. As the results of the experiments, it is proved that the efficiency of the tested collector is improved greately, compared to the uncovered, and if these collectors are supplied at the cost cheaper by 20% to the ordinary flat-plate (black painted) collectors, these can be used widely for the low temperature applications, such as solar floor heating and solar heat-pump heating. And we also pointed out that the performance of the Water-Trickle collectors could be improved by either drawing off the moist air of the collector as the fresh, humidifying air of the rooms or applying the dual (water and air) collecting system.
