Energy

Plate panels

A solar panel system includes two elements: the actual solar panel and the accumulation tank. The first includes a solar heat accumulator, i.e. a steel or copper panel crossed by the pipes in which the fluid to be heated by the sun flows: generally antifreeze is added to the water in order to tolerate winter temperature. Above the absorber there is a glass panel that lets the incoming sunrays in but does not them out, so that the environment underneath remains hot. The tank includes a heat exchanger that allows the transmission of the heat from the heated liquid inside the absorber to the water of the house hydraulic system. Thermal solar panels are installed in a fixed position, if possible south-oriented, in order to receive the maximum amount of radiation. A square metre of solar collector can heat between 40 and 300 litres of water every day, at 45-60 degrees. The efficiency varies according to climatic conditions and the type of collector by 30-80%. The performance of solar panels has increased in the last 10 years by 30%.