Development of a test Bank for Solar Water Collectors with Vacuum Pipes: Operating Analysis and Comparison with a Commercial Device

Abstract

Due to the technological development of the industrialized countries, the design and assembly of solar collectors for water heating is mainly intended to operate in European and Western coun- tries. To monitor the operation of collectors, specific equipment is required that generally focuses on collecting data from the water storage tank, without considering the process that takes place in the vacuum tubes. The present study shows the design and implementation of a bank of tests for collectors, conformed by strategically possessed sensors that allow to measure the variation of temperature, pressure, level; in addition to an HMI (Human Machine Interface) to visualize the information obtained in real time. For the processing and processing of the information, the ARDUINO MEGA and DAQ NI6009 cards were used. As a result, the operation of the equipment with the obtained data is evidenced, when compared with the commercial devices: Sper Scienti- fic 800024 and HANNA, the implemented system presented a similar operation, with a shorter response time, and allowed to measure the temperature inside the Vacuum tubes in 4 different positions. By knowing the internal behavior of the f luid within the device, you can obtain accurate conclusions about the internal process within the collector.