ABSTRACT
This paper presents the optimisation of a flat-plate solar collector commonly used in thermosyphon solar water heaters. The optimisation that helps to obtain the right optimum combination of the selected design parameters that maximises the performance of the collector was based on the genetic algorithm. The optimisation results also show the ability of the heater to achieve high performances with lower area of the collector and consequently lower price. Based on the optimisation results, a thermosyphon solar water heater was constructed with local materials; and tested under the climatic conditions of two cities of Cameroon. The experimental results show the ability of the heater to produce hot water and the applicability of solar water heaters in Cameroon. The experimental and numerical results have also been confronted, and the concordance proves to be acceptable.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).