Abstract:

Knowledge of solar residential device’s thermal performance is necessary in order to optimize their output. This requires a database of solar radiation for locations for which the system is being installed. In this regard, temperature maps are generated for a realized parabolic solar cooker using an improved solar radiation model for 48 cities in Algeria. The maps are drawn for two cases: clear and cloud skies in winter and summer seasons, which allow comparison between cooker performances. The developed approach consists in converting obtained results from optical simulation to thermal values based on Stefan-Boltzmann law. Experimental data for receiver temperatures and solar radiation measured at Ghardaîa city in January month were used for the validation. It was found that cooker temperature values obtained from the measurements and that estimated using the proposed approach were in good agreement. The mapping results indicate that the realized cooker is efficient in all the country throughout the summer season with temperatures exceeding 110 °C. The use of the cooker will be reduced by going in South to North regions during the winter months, depending on the amount of solar radiations received. Nevertheless, the major area of the country is favorable for the use of the cooker during this period of the year even when the sky remains cloud.

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