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The radiant energy incident on the earths surface on a
Chapter 8, Problem 8.25(choose chapter or problem)
The radiant energy incident on the earths surface on a sunny day is roughly 900 W/m2 . Collecting and focusing sunlight and using the focused beam to heat a fluid is an old idea, and as the environmental costs of fossil-fuel combustion mount, solar heating becomes an increasingly attractive alternative. Suppose a house is to be designed that will have a circulating forced-air central-heating unit, and solar energy is contemplated as a heat source (backed up with a conventional furnace to be used on cloudy days). If air is to be fed at a rate of 1000 m3 /min at 30C and 1 atm, and the air is to be heated to 55C before being discharged into the living space, what is the required area of the solar collector plates? Assume 30% of the radiant energy incident on the plates is used to heat the air.
Questions & Answers
QUESTION:
The radiant energy incident on the earths surface on a sunny day is roughly 900 W/m2 . Collecting and focusing sunlight and using the focused beam to heat a fluid is an old idea, and as the environmental costs of fossil-fuel combustion mount, solar heating becomes an increasingly attractive alternative. Suppose a house is to be designed that will have a circulating forced-air central-heating unit, and solar energy is contemplated as a heat source (backed up with a conventional furnace to be used on cloudy days). If air is to be fed at a rate of 1000 m3 /min at 30C and 1 atm, and the air is to be heated to 55C before being discharged into the living space, what is the required area of the solar collector plates? Assume 30% of the radiant energy incident on the plates is used to heat the air.
ANSWER:Step 1 of 4
We need to calculate the required area of the solar collector plates.
A house with a circulating forced air central heating unit is to be designed with solar energy possibly being the heat source. The given flow rate of the air is 
