ETC SOLAR COLLECTOR PRODUCT OVERVIEW
23Pages

ETC SOLAR COLLECTOR PRODUCT OVERVIEW Product Highlights High Eciency Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Collector Suitable for Residential and Commercial Projects Steam-back and Drain-back Compatible Header Design Cyclone Rated, Marine Grade Mounting Frame and Fasteners Comprehensive 15 Year Limited Warranty* * See limited warranty policy for complete details

CONTENTS Apricus PRODUCT OVERVIEW Component Materials 4 Solar Collector Components 5 PRODUCT DESIGN Evolutionary Design 6 HOW IT WORKS Solar System Operation 8 TECHNICAL DATA Pressure Drop 10 Incidence Angle Modifier (IAM) 10 INSTALLATION GUIDELINES Standard Package Contents 12 PACKING INFORMATION Packing Dimensions & Weights 13 Standard Mounting Frame 14 Angled Mounting Frame 15 MOUNTING FRAME Mounting Angle & Dimensions 19 HEADER CONNECTION Brass Fittings 22

BASIC SPECIFICATIONS Apricus ETC range of evacuated tube solar thermal collectors are suitable for both residential and commercial applications. 4 sizes are available ranging from 10 to 30 tubes. Peak Output* Aperture Area Gross Area Fluid Capacity Flow Rate Peak Output* Aperture Area Gross Area Fluid Capacity Flow Rate Peak Output ** Aperture Area Gross Area Fluid Capacity Flow Rate Peak Output* Aperture Area Gross Area Fluid Capacity Flow Rate * Height does not include mounting frame.
 ** Data from TUV report 154035663_EN. Calculated at midday (trans IAM = 1), G=1000W/m2, ∆T (tm-ta)=0

PRODUCT OVERVIEW APHCUS COMPONENT MATERIALS Component Material Specifications Evacuated Tubes Material: Borosilicate 3.3 Tube style: Twin wall all glass Dimensions: 058mm outer tube; 047mm inner tube; 1.8m length, 1.8mm outer tube wall thickness Absorber Material: Selective coating Vacuum: P<5x10 3 Pa; Heat loss: <0.8W/(m2 °C) Material: High purity "oxygen free" copper (ASTM: C10200; DIN: OF-Cu) Working fluid: non-toxic liquid (Apricus' proprietary mixture) Maximum heat transfer capacity: 220W Operating angle: 20-80° Startup temperature: ~30°C Material: Copper (ASTM: C1100, DIN: ECu-58);...

SOLAR COLLECTOR COMPONENTS Manifold & Header Pipe Insulated box housing the copper header pipe (heat exchanger) that the system uid circulates through. Complete ETC Collector Header Pipe The header pipe is designed for both ecient heat transfer and reliability with only 4 brazing points. Brazing is 45% silver material for optimal strength and corrosion resistance. The header pipe drains eectively making it compatible with steam-back and drain-back systems. A thick layer of glass wool made from recycled glass insulates the header pipe to reduce heat loss and is able to withstand high...

EVOLUTIONARY DESIGN The ETC solar collector is the successor to Apricus’ agship product, the AP evacuated tube solar collector. Tens of thousands of AP collectors have been installed worldwide over the past 8 years. Internal R&D, 3rd party lab testing and feedback from installers have resulted in a range of incremental improvements. The same overall dimensions have been maintained, so most ETC components maintain backward compatibility with AP collectors. Below are just some of the key improvements. Manifold Casing The manifold casing has been upgraded from an electroplated nish after...

PRODUCT DESIGN CHOICE OF MATERIALS Materials used in the Apricus ETC solar collector have been chosen to provide optimum efciency while ensuring reliability, longevity and excellent end of life recyclability. Silicone Rubber HTV Silicone rubber is used for the manifold seals and tube caps due to its excellent stability through a wide temperature range and excellent UV stability. Tube Attachment Plastic tube caps that clip into the frame are widely used by many other brands, but they become brittle and degrade in UV radiation. In contrast, Apricus ETC solar collectors use a high tensile 316...

HOW IT WORKS SOLAR SYSTEM OPERATION Solar Tank Hot Water Boost Tank Cold Water System Operation Overview 1. The ETC solar collector converts sunlight into usable heat, heating the liquid in the header pipe. 2. Once the temperature in the header pipe up is measured to be hotter than the water in the bottom of the storage tank (T2), the pump turns on. The liquid is slowly circulated through the header pipe in the collector, heating by ~7oC during each pass. 3. Depending on the location, the climate, and local requirements, water may be circulated directly from the storage tank, or through an...

TECHNICAL DATA ApriCUS COLLECTOR EFFICIENCY The instantaneous efficiency of the collector depends on the surface area used for the calculation. It is important to use the same area (absorber, aperture or gross) when comparing collectors. Aperture is the standard area measurement for presenting efficiency values. Below are the performance variable for the Apricus ETC-30 solar collector based on TUV test results for Solarkeymark certification. Gross Area Collector Efficiency Curve (Aperture) It is important to consider BOTH efficiency conversion and 1AM to evaluate a collector's true daily or...

TECHNICAL DATA PRESSURE DROP The following curves provides the pressure drop values for an ETC-30 collectors. This can be used to help determine pump sizing when installing a number of collectors in series. INCIDENCE ANGLE MODIFIER (1AM) IAM is a measure of the change in collector output as the sun angle changes. Longitudinal IAM is the path of the sun in the sky throughout the year. Transversal IAM represents the sun's path over the collector each day from morning to afternoon and is very different for Apricus evacuated tubes compared to flat absorbers due to the round shape. The round...

SNOW LOADING ETC solar collectors are rated for up to 295kg/m2 snow loading. The roof and attachment points must also be suitably rated. In snow prone regions the installation angle should be 45o or higher and the collector raised off the roof by a suitable amount to prevent snow build-up on the tubes. WIND LOADING Apricus ETC aluminium solar collector mounting frames have been independently reviewed by structural engineers and conrmed to be strong enough for wind gusts up to 316km/h. Conditions apply, so always consult with a local structural engineer to review the roof structure to ensure...