To improve solar collector (SC) efficiency, a variety of designs and
materials have been introduced into production practice. Studies describing
SC specifics, therefore, are particularly valuable to the scientific
community as they contribute to the overall body of knowledge and constant
improvement the in the scientific field. In that regard, the study presented
in this paper analyses the thermal performance of the fixed flat-plate
collector (fFPSC) with an Sn-Al2O3 selective absorber. The fFPSC design
utilizes gravity water flow in an open loop system. A two-month study was
conducted to perform the analysis. The experiment was based on measurements
of water flow in the fFPSC, the water temperature at the fFPSC inlet and
outlet, and solar radiation intensity on a horizontal surface. Results for
three randomly selected measurement days have shown that fFPSC can achieve
relatively satisfactory values for average daily specific heat power,
thermal efficiency, and inlet-outlet water temperature gradient,
respectively: June 29 (381.78 W/m2, 60.67%, and 9.06 ?C), June 30 (364.33
W/m2, 59.43%, and 7.46 ?C), and July 15 (373.06 W/m2, 59.85%, and 8.69 ?C).
Apart from the relatively good measurement results, this type of SC does not
require circulating pumps for operation, which brings a double advantage:
energy saving and energy production.