For a fixed thermal output, which one of the following is the major advantage offered by a concentrated collector over a flat plate collector?
GATE XE - 2026,
Answer: C
The major advantage is operation at higher temperature.
A concentrating collector focuses sunlight from a large aperture onto a small absorber. Heat losses scale with the absorber area, so they are small relative to the energy collected, and the working fluid can reach hundreds of degrees, enough for process steam or power generation. Flat plate collectors are limited to roughly 100 °C.
Concentrators can use only direct beam radiation, not diffuse, and need tracking, which raises cost rather than lowering it. For the same output the aperture area is set by the solar energy needed, so it is the absorber, not the aperture, that becomes smaller.
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