
362 Principles of Sustainable Energy Systems
© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
In order to construct a model suitable for a thermal analysis of a at-plate collector, the
following simplifying assumptions will be made:
1. The collector is thermally in steady state.
2. The temperature drop between the top and bottom of the absorber plate is
negligible.
3. Heat ow is one-dimensional through the cover as well as through the back
insulation.
4. The headers connecting the tubes cover only a small area of the collector and pro-
vide uniform ow to the tubes.
5. The sky can be treated as though it were a black-body source for infrared radiation ...