Funder : EPSRC
Duration: 01 July 2013 – 30 June 2016
Staff Involved: Dr Trevor Hyde
The project aims to develop an evacuated flat plate solar collector with glass covers front and back which is little thicker and weighs little more than a conventional insulating glazing unit. The research will investigate novel vacuum sealing technologies for the glass envelope based around previously developed sealing techniques used for high performance evacuated glazing. Collaborators at the University of Warwick and Loughborough University and will develop a novel lightweight absorber for the collector and an alternative glass/metal collector envelope. This concept will enable new approaches to building integration as it can be used in place of roofing, glazing or façade components. The superior performance characteristics achieved by the novel design will allow this collector to outperform both flat plate and evacuated tube collectors over a wide range of operating conditions.