METHODOLOGY OF TESTING AND DATA PROCESSING TO PREDICT THE MAIN THERMAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FLAT-PLATE WATER COOLED SOLAR COLLECTORS
Around a year ago, the test station for flat-plate water cooled solar collectors has been put in operation and equipped with all measuring equipment and instrumentation including data acquisition and processing system at the Mechanical Engineering Faculty in Sarajevo. A short technical description of operational flow diagram including data acquisition system and its “interconnection” with the relevant software interfacing for results evaluation, for the Solar Testing Station, is presented. Using this station the main thermal characteristics of tested solar collectors have been obtained in accordance with appropriate testing methods given in ASHRAE Standard 93-86 and European standard EN 12975-2. The value of time constant of solar collector and graphics review of functions of thermal efficiency and incident angle modifier, as a final report of this kind of test, is shown and discussed. This new methodology of testing and data processing will be compared with 1978 ASHRAE methodology. Measurement techniques and the results of the latest tests will be analyzed, and compared with data obtained by 1978 ASHRAE procedure.