Designing and Testing Different Types of Solar Air Heaters

This project aims to design and test different types of solar air heaters. SAHs are used for heat applications and to improve sustainability. The future of the world is dependent on non-conventional energy sources. Moreover, solar energy is necessary for the modern world as fossil fuels are harmful for the environment and will not be available for a long period. For this reason, solar energy is seen as a feasible source for the ever-increasing need for energy and a better way to develop the environment. This project will focus on designing three SAHs with different absorber materials. In this study the cola can, conical and polymer panel type collectors were used due to enhanced heat transfer. The calculations were carried out from the experimental data that was collected the spring and summer periods of 13-16 May and 16-19 July 2019, each day from 9:00 till 16:00. The maximum efficiencies obtained in May were 29 % for cola can, 32 % for conical and 29 % for polymer panel, and in July 30 % for cola can, 35 % for conical and 32 % for polymer panel. Additionally, the maximum heat loss values obtained in May and July were calculated as 172.9 W and 214.1 W for cola can, 132.2 W and 181.3 W for conical type, and 129.3 W and 166.3 W for polymer type, respectively. It can be concluded that the best type of the collector is cola can, because its efficiency is stable as seen from the graphical representation of the experimental data, although the conical type collector has the highest efficiency and the maximum heat loss value of the cola can is relatively high. Keywords: Solar air heaters, Sustainability, Efficiency, Heat loss, Experimental data