Performance analysis of solar air heaters of conventional design

Abstract This article analyzes the technical performances of seven solar air heaters of conventional design. The study is generalized by means of two coefficients: air mass flow rate per unit collector area (G) and the collector geometric coefficient (K), which make collector performances invariant, under the same conditions of design, material choice and ambient values. By use of the zero-capacitance model, the air heater performances were computed for the most usual range of design and working conditions; the graphs presented can be used when dealing with planning problems of air collectors.