COVERED PROFILED STEEL CLADDING AS AN AIR HEATING SOLAR COLLECTOR - LABORATORY TESTING, MODELING AND VALIDATION

Profiled steel cladding is a widely-used product in construction, and can be adapted to act as a building-integrated solar air heating colle ctor. A mathematical model is presented of an air heating solar collec tor using profiled steel as the absorber and transparent multi-layer p olycarbonate rigid sheeting as the cover. The model is validated by ex periments conducted within a controlled laboratory environment, and th -experimental results are also presented. The expected full-scale perf ormance has been evaluated based on the assumption that the proposed s olar collector is to be used as an integral part of a building wall st ructure situated in an urban area of the UK in winter. The evaluation leads to equivalent values for U-L and for F-R Of approximately 4.0 W m(-2)degrees C-1 and 0.71, respectively, which provide an estimation o f the performance of such a collector system in the UK. (C) 1997 Elsev ier Science S.A.