Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors

The TRENDSETTER® TS-30 premium collector is a thermal solar collector that uses twin glass evacuated tubes as the solar absorber. Copper heat pipes are used to transfer the heat from within the evacuated tube to a heat transfer manifold, with metal fins positioned within the evacuated tube to aid heat transfer and hold the heat pipes firmly in place.

The heat transfer manifold consists of a copper header pipe through which heat transfer liquid (water or waterglycol mix) is circulated. The header is designed with dry contact ports into which the heat pipes plug, allowing efficient heat transfer. There is no water inside the evacuated tubes and no direct contact between the heat pipes and the heat transfer liquid, as such the system is suitable for mains pressure.

The manifold and tubes are attached to a stainless steel mounting frame, which can be mounted directly on a roof of suitable pitch. Frame kits are also available which allow mounting on flat roofs, walls or lowpitched roofs. By using commercially available frame kits, pole mounting is also possible.

The TRENDSETTER® solar collector has been designed to be suitable for a wide range of system configurations including open loop, closed loop, drain back and even thermosyphon when coupled with a suitable tank. Collectors may be installed in banks of up to 5 collectors in series (150 tubes maximum) and unlimited parallelconnected banks. Collectors can be used for both domestic and commercial applications.