Potential for Mitigation of Solar Collector Overheating Through Application of Phase Change Materials – A Review

Abstract

Demand for domestic hot water and heating is rarely perfectly concurrent with solar irradiation, which means that collectors can overheat in periods of high incident radiation and low demand. Phase change materials have been used as energy storage in space heating applications to absorbs excess heat during low demand periods for use in peak demand periods. This paper reviews the current state of research on the possibility of application of such materials as energy storage for solar collectors, in order to avoid collector overheating. Finally, various materials were evaluated and ranked for this application based on required properties and price. An example model of such materials being applied in a typical family house domestic hot water solar system is also provided.