Experimental study of eco-friendly insulating materials for solar thermal collectors: A sustainable built environment

Abstract

The typical solar flat plate collector relies on materials like rock wool for insulation to minimize heat loss. However, the use of such inorganic materials raises substantial concerns for both the industry and the environment. Therefore, it is crucial to decrease the reliance on these inorganic materials and instead adopt readily available biodegradable materials that pose no environmental risks to the system. The current research presents the usage of agricultural waste as insulating materials for S-FPC fabrication. The novelty of this current research work is the effective utilization of agriculture waste (rice husk, stubble fibre, coco-peat, and nitrile rubber) as an insulating material for the fabrication of S-FPC. Experiments were performed with insulating thicknesses of 50 mm and 70 mm. The optimum temperature was recorded to be 50–53 °C with an average thermal efficiency of 64–66 % by using rice husk as the insulating material at 70 mm thick.

Keywords

• Solar energy
• Insulating materials
• Solar collector
• Solar water heater
• Agriculture waste
• Biodegradable