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Creating a vacuum (<1 Pa) around a solar absorber in a flat plate solar thermal collector can increase efficiency by minimising gaseous conduction and convection between the absorber plate and the glass cover. High performance and architecturally attractive flat plate solar thermal collectors are appealing to building owners and designers for supplying clean and renewable energy cost effectively produced via the façade of the building.

This two part paper describes the construction techniques and thermal performance of two vacuum enclosures, fabricated at Ulster University, as prototype components for evacuated flat plate solar collectors. The enclosures were tested at three conditions: 0.0033 Pa, 17 Pa and atmospheric pressure. The first enclosure consisted of two glass panes, sealed to an edge spacer and separated by an array of support pillars on a regular square grid to form a narrow evacuated space …