Innovative solar thermal concentrating roof-integrated collector: technological and formal issues

The design and development of solar thermal concentrating collectors integrated into buildings is becoming an interesting strategy for the promotion of green energy production. This paper reports an innovative system of roof envelope in which a cylindrical solar linear concentrating collector with circular cross-section for the production of thermal energy at medium temperature (80°C - 250°C) is integrated. The optical performance of the solar concentrating collector has been evaluated using a Monte- Carlo ray tracing tool and a thermal model of the system has been developed. The results highlighted that the proposed solar device can be suitable for many industrial and commercial applications such as solar cooling with double effect absorption chillers and process heat. The envelope integrated system meets the requirements of the upper horizontal enclosures. It consists of plane, inclined and curves parts, the last constituting the fixed primary optics which concentrates the direct solar irradiance on an evacuated tubular receiver moved by a domotic system of mechanized arms. The formal and technological issues of the architectural integration are studied by case studies, both on existing and new buildings. The analysis has led to the development of different solutions depending on the different climate zones considered.