Advances in solar collector system under the Kirkuk city climatic condition

Abstract

The current study provides an experimental evaluation of the thermal performance of a parabolic trough collector (PTC) under the climatic conditions in Kirkuk, Iraq. The dimensions of the system were 2 m (width) x 2 m (length) and rim angle was set to be about 77.3°. A solar film coated aluminum reflector to improve the reflectivity and a copper absorber tube sealed in an evacuated glass tube to limit heat losses. At a constant flow rate of 1 L/min, water used as the heat transfer fluid. In the testing system performance was evaluated under different environmental conditions for three months (January–March). The results indicated that the thermal efficiency is significantly affected by climatic conditions wherein during March, up to 38% was achieved versus February and January with 29.7% and 22.2%, respectively. However, it was recorded that the useful heat gain obtained in March at noon reached 590 W while in February and January lower values were noted to be 418.6 W and 348 W respectively. The system was able to produce hot water for multiple hours, with thermal storage durations of 8 hours in March, 6 hours in February and 3 hours in January. The economic analysis also shows that the annual savings compared to standard electric water heating systems are approximately $407. These findings confirm that the PTC system is an efficient and economically viable solution for domestic hot water production, particularly in regions with high solar radiation, contributing to sustainable energy utilization and reduced dependence on conventional energy sources.