ABSTRACT
The most common collectors are ¦at-plate collectors for space and water heating. It is possible to get higher temperatures for process heat and for solar cooling with well-insulated ¦at-plate collectors with two to three glazings; however, most highertemperature collectors use some form of concentration for thermal generation of electricity, cooling (absorption cooling), or process heat [1]. Concentrating collectors can also reduce the amount of photovoltaic (PV) cell area for producing electricity. Concentrating solar power (CSP) requires direct radiation, so these collectors need to be in areas with a good-to-excellent solar resource (2,000 to 3,000 kWh/m2/yr or an average of 5.5-8 sun hours/day. See solar maps in Chapter 3 for those regions of the world with that solar resource, which are primarily deserts and arid regions.
