Energy Efficiency of Flat Plate Solar Collectors as a Function of Their Construction Parameters

Indira Buljubašić , Adisa Fočić, Sandira Eljšan, Midhat Osmić

© 2025 Indira Buljubašić, published by UIKTEN. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International. (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Citation Information: SAR Journal. Volume 8, Issue 4, Pages 318-327, ISSN 2619-9955, https://doi.org/10.18421/SAR84-03, December 2025.

Received: 27 October 2025.
Revised: 01 December 2025.
Accepted: 09 December 2025.
Published: 27 December 2025.

Abstract:

The global energy sector is conditioned by limited fossil fuel reserves, constant increase in consumption and energy prices. Increasing CO2 emissions lead to warming of the atmosphere by the greenhouse effect, which leads to far-reaching climate change. For the above reasons, responsible and sustainable behaviour regarding energy is necessary. This entails issues of energy stability and security from both the economic and social aspect. One of the solutions is the more significant use of solar energy, while respecting the principle of maximum energy efficiency. The paper presents a solar thermal installation for heating domestic water and defines the characteristics of a flat plate solar collector. Also, the influence of design characteristics on the efficiency of the collector, i.e. energy efficiency of a flat plate solar collector is analysed. It was determined that the most influential parameters that affect the energy efficiency of a flat plate solar collector are the heat removal factor from the collector, collector effectiveness and the mass flow of the working fluid.

Keywords – Solar energy, solar thermal installation, flat plate solar collector, energy efficiency.

                   

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