flat solar collector

Flat plate collectors capture solar energy by employing the green house effect. The glass covering permits up to 90% of the visible sunlight to enter the collector. When the light passes through the glass its frequency is changed slightly to a lower energy level. When the light strikes the absorbing surface of the flat plate inside, the light is absorbed as heat. The combination of the glass frequency change and the solar absorbing surface of the plate capture the maximum amount of energy. As the absorber plate heats up it begins to radiate energy as infrared (IR) or heat radiation. Glass is essentially opaque to IR wavelengths so the heat is trapped increasing the temperature.

High efficiency, widely used for solar energy project