A new concept of flat plate solar collector (FPC) has been numerically studied for optimization purposes from an energetic and exergetic points of view. The highly efficient results have been achieved by adding transparent insulation materials (TIM) made of plastic and aerogel-silica in the cover. The optimum solution has been prototyped and successfully tested. The numerical simulation and the corresponding analysis are performed with a previously devel. A new concept of flat plate solar collector (FPC) has been numerically studied for optimization purposes from an energetic and exergetic points of view. The highly efficient results have been achieved by adding transparent insulation materials (TIM) made of plastic and aerogel-silica in the cover. The optimum solution has been prototyped and successfully tested. The numerical simulation and the corresponding analysis are performed with a previously developed numerical simulation tool based on an in-house software platform (NEST). An optimization design has been done using this numerical simulation tool objected to higher performance at the (Tin−Tamb)/Ġ>0.074 range, and a new prototype is fabricated with low-cost materials found in the workshop. The final results are compared with previous prototypes that could collect between 2.5 and 1.4 times higher than standard collectors in summer and autumn, respectively. The new prototype has higher performance at (Tin−Tamb)/Ġ>0.074, which makes it competitive in a high-temperature range. Moreover, with the new layer of aerogel-silica, additional protection against overheating is achieved, as the temperatures of the plastic TIM are limited. The new prototype has higher energetic and exergetic efficiency at high-temperature areas, and the inlet temperature at optimized working conditions is higher than the previous prototype. Finally, the energy efficiency at (Tin−Tamb)/Ġ=0.08 could reach 55% and exergetic efficiency 8%. The manufacturing cost of the FPC prototype wit. ••A new high capacity Flat Plat Solar Collector (FPC) based on TIM has been developed.••The cover combines plastic honeycomb and silica aerogel TIM layers.••The solar collector has an improved efficiency at temperatures higher than 100°C.••The silica aerogel layer protects the honeycomb plastic TIM against overheating.••Flat plate solar collectorThermal insulation materialAerogel-silicaEnergy & exergyFlat plate solar collectors (FPC) are widely employed in various industrial and domestic applications as the simplest model in solar capture thermal systems. Cost and efficiency have always been critical parameters to consider in FPC optimization. Moreover, in most cases, the efficiency will decrease rapidly in the high-temperature range, which limits its application significantly.The simple structure of the FPC consisting of an absorber, transparent cover, and insulation case has been developed since the 1950s,. According to, the common insulation materials for solar collectors are polystyrene, polyurethane foam, phenolic foam, cellular foam, mineral wool, etc. Considering the costs, humidity resistance, and insulation performance, polyurethane foam is a common choice for FPC insulation. In terms of the frame materials, typical ones are aluminium and Galvanized steel.Many efforts have been devoted to decreasing its final FPC price, focused on substituting metal parts for commodity plastics. Tsilingiris proposed a polymer absorber with plastic water bags in. After a further analysis in, he found that the plate thermal conductance is a relevant parameter in the design of the polymer absorber. Typical materials are polyolefins and EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer). When a polymer is under consideration for the tu. One of the research objectives is to find the optimum layers' thickness, or at least the best possible trade-off to maximize efficiency, while keeping low costs. Developing this process only by experimental procedures is not cost-effective. Therefore, a simulation tool is required to optimize the design. Moreover, a fast simulation numerical model is preferred, as several simulations are needed to find the optimum configuration.The mathematical approach is one-dimensional, which assumes that each material layer has two unique temperatures (top and bottom). An analytical solution is employed for the absorber temperatures, considering it a fin. For the simulation of the radiation flux within the layers of the FPC, the radiosities method is used. Since the different layers have different visible and infrared spectrum behaviour, these radiations are computed separately. The numerical method proposed is implemented in an in-house parallel object-oriented code (NEST). In order to solve the generated equations' system, the code applies a Gauss–Seidel method, needing several iterations to converge. Since some equations are non-linear, a subrelaxation factor of 0.9 is used to improve convergence.
