How does a solar colector work?
Question:
Answer:
I will assume you mean a solar collector that heats water. Note that there are other types of solar collectors, eg those that generate electricity via the sun's energy, more usually referred to as solar panels.
The solar colector then is a set of parallel tubes joined at the top and bottom by larger 'tank' tubes. The parallel tubes are covered with glass, laid out so that they are square to and exposed to the sun. The angle must not reach horizontal as this will not encourage the 'hot water rising' principle. So the top 'tank' then is the collector of the hot water generated in the parallel tubes. The top tank is connected to a main hot water tank, usually mounted inside the roof space of a house. The colder water in the main tank is then connected to the bottom 'tank' tube. As hot water rises then there is a water circulating process that will eventually heat the whole of the main tank at which time the there will be some sort of cut out or temperature control to prevent dangerous levels of water temperature.
These collectors will lose the heat at night time by exactly the same principle unless a one way valve is inserted into the plumbing cicuit. ( Solar panels have the same problem and they use a diode as a one way valve ).
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