Sun shines on solar collaboration
On a cloudy day, it’s difficult to evaluate the efficacy of a solar-energy system—the main reason that one of the nation’s only certifiers of such technologies is located, appropriately, in the Sunshine State. However, manufacturers may have to stand in line for more than a year before staff at the Florida Solar Energy Center can test and certify their solar-energy products.
Now, thanks to a collaboration between UW-Madison Solar Energy Laboratory (SEL) researchers and staff at Madison Area Technical College (MATC), alternative testing methods could mean a sunny outlook for solar-collector certification.
Sanford Klein (large image) |
Solar-energy collector certification helps ensure optimal performance and qualifies consumers for rebates. The current certification process subjects solar collectors to a battery of performance tests—but the tests require optimal climate conditions. “The tests that are normally used require sunny, clear sky conditions, very minimal wind speed, and unvarying ambient temperature—things that just don’t happen often,” says Ouweneel-Bascom Professor Sanford Klein, SEL director.
Rather, solar systems operate in variable conditions, so the collaborators began to explore the feasibility of testing collectors in areas like Wisconsin. “The research shows that there are alternative test methods that require less time and less stringent climate conditions that can yield results suitable for certification,” says Klein.
According to Klein, solar-collector testing tells researchers how much energy is absorbed and how much is lost. The researchers discovered that the number of outdoor tests can be reduced and conduct energy-loss tests indoors by running hot water through the collector—a time-and labor-saving approach.
This project was the first solar research collaboration between UW-Madison and MATC, but it may not be the last. “It was a pretty natural collaboration, because they had the site and the people to do the experimental work, we had the experience with this kind of testing,” says Klein. “It just worked out very well.”