News Update - Test Rig up and running

Figure 1 - Cylinder Installation

Fabrum Engineers have built a dedicated test rig to assess all performance factors for Solar Thermal Heating systems. The rig is fully instrumented and will record data throughout the days and weeks of the tests.

The test rig is fully mobile, can be easily transported, and is currently fitted with a FES-B20 panel and 120 litre twin coil cylinder with 10mm supply and return pipes (Figure 1 - shown un-lagged for clarity)

Figure 2 - Working Rig

Structured Experiments began in Early May and will assess a huge range of parameters, including:

• Control strategy vs. system design parameters
• Thermal inertia effects
• System Flow rate
• Temperature measurement effects
• Heating coil and Thermal storage effects
• Hot water usage patterns

We look forward to bringing in-depth analysis of our data to you in the near future.

Figure 3 - Rig Output

Figure 2 shows the rig collecting sun earlier in the year.

Figure 3 shows a brief extract of the data from the rig in low level and shaded sun. The pattern of heating the water in the panel, pumping and transferring heat to the cylinder is easy to identify.