ā Evacuated Solar Energy Collector Technical Reference

Technical product description
nal source, uses this heat to evaporate the liquid (latent heat) and then releases the latent
heat by reverse transformation (condensation) at a heat sink region. This process is repeated
continuously as the condensed fluid returns to its original position due to gravity.
Rapid temperature swings produce localised stresses within all glass to metal joints limiting
the life of the joint. In order to remove these stresses a specially designed THERMAL SHOCK
ABSORBER is incorporated into the THERMOMAX � �
Memotron Evacuated Solar Collector
Tube. This patented thermal shock absorber is made of a metal having high thermal resistance
and high mechanical strength to completely absorb the temperature swing.
(3.1.2) The Evacuated Glass Tube
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In a THERMOMAX collector the absorber plate and its heat-pipe is hermetically sealed within
an evacuated glass tube. This protects the high efficiency of the absorber plate from adverse
weathering influences as well as airborne pollutants.
The vacuum in the evacuated glass tube is 10 -5 mbar. This can only be reached and maintained
over a long period of time through a specialised evacuation process in production resulting
in an almost total elimination of convection and conduction losses from the collector.
Due to the tubular shape each glass tube offers
minimal resistance to wind and snow build up.
(3.1.3) The Condenser
The heat-pipe is coupled to a high efficiency CON-
DENSER, operating as the heat sink in the repetitive
evaporation/condensation cycle of the heatpipe
as shown in Figure 3. Radiation striking the
collector plate is absorbed, then transferred via the
heat-pipe as thermal energy to the condenser.
Connected into the THERMOMAX � manifold, the
condenser efficiently transfers this heat to the wa-
ter of the connected circuit.
The unique design of THERMOMAX � ’s Memotron
condenser assembly provides an edge on other
similar collectors. The special interior construction of the condenser prohibits any delay of its
operation, which may be caused by overheating of the heat transfer vapour in the heat-pipe.
This design of the condenser also increases considerably the output of the unit.
(3.2) The THERMOMAX �
MS Manifold
The THERMOMAX � MS manifolds are designed in either a 2 m² or a 3 m² tube assembly configuration.
A 20 tube manifold adds up to a 2 m² assembly, and the 30 tube manifold to a 3
m² assembly. These can be extended by parallel and serial connection of as many manifolds
as required to cover the demanded energy requirement.
The insulated manifolds are supplied completely with the support assemblies and all connection
fittings for the pipework required. The manifold chamber is made from high grade
stainless steel and is sealed in a weather resistant metal cover. There is a thick CFC - free
polyurethane foam insulating jacket, having a U value [W/(mK)] of 0.28 � U � 0.35. The
stainless steel manifold inlet and outlet pipe has 22 mm diameter.
The manifold section is 115 mm high and 120 mm wide. The approximate overall dimensions,
weights, water capacity and absorber area are given in Table 1:
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