Numerical study of the greenhouse effect in a flat-plate double glazing solar heat collector

The work presented concerns the modelling of the greenhouse effect in a double-glazed flat-air solar thermal collector. A mathematical model was used to determine the net infrared radiation absorbed as well as the radiation losses at the absorber level by considering all the possible radiation paths within the collector. For the computation, a parametric study of the collector and a theoretical characterization in natural sunshine in the city of Ngaoundere for the month of April were carried out. Findings: The results show that, when the collector is facing south and inclined at an angle of 30° to the horizontal, the solar noon is reached at 12:30 pm and at this time; the maximum temperature of the absorber is 88 °C for maximum sunshine of 1032.59 W/m2. The declination in this locality ranges from 2.98° to 13.69° during the month of April. Analysis of the Infrared radiation profile reveals that the net IR radiation absorbed is 678 W/m2 with IR radiation losses to the absorber estimated at 250 W/m2. The greenhouse effect is used for the optimization of heat transfer through solar collectors and greenhouses for drying.