[RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Solar thermal company Solar Hydrogen Energy Corporation (SHEC) introduced a heat exchanger made specifically for their parabolic dish-style solar applications. This heat exchanger acts as the focal point for the sun’s energy which is the transferred into usable heat. Because these reactors are usually positioned at the focus of solar collectors, they are compact and don’t have space for complimentary equipment such as heat exchangers. Picture a satellite dish, and the small receiving unit in the center. Heat exchangers require large surface area to be efficient at high flow rates. Another factor in solar reactor design is a single heat source of a focused solar beam and the difficulties in driving multiple reactors from one heat source. The SHEC exchanger provides a heat transfer mechanism in which the thermal transfer properties are controlled by setting the system parameters, and the rate of heat transfer in response to thermal demand. SHEC is rapidly moving toward commercialization of their solar thermal concentrators.
