Estimation of incident radiation on a novel spherical solar collector

Most solar collectors commonly used are of the flat-plate type. In the present work, a novel type of solar collector, namely, spherical collector, is proposed. It consists of a stationary spherical body with a cover and an absorbing surface. The receiving hemisphere, normal to the incident beam radiation, keeps on shifting with the apparent position of the sun. The main advantage of this type of collector is its ability to effectively track the sun, without any actual mechanical movement. Both daily and hourly variations of incident radiation on such a spherical solar collector are calculated on the basis of available data. The results are compared with that on an equivalent flat-plate collector for different angles of tilt and latitude. From the results, the spherical collectors are found to be more effective in receiving solar radiation over equivalent flat-plate counterparts throughout the year.