Quote:
Originally Posted by SDMCF
..My collectors are plumbed in series with the larger diameter panel last in line. At first I plumbed the 4 collectors as 2 parallel pairs, but changed that. Having them in series greatly reduced the amount of external pipework which cut down on heat losses. In theory...
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I would think that running them all parallel would be more advantageous.
Mist obviously because the parallel piping would mean less fluid resistance, therefore less work for the pump.
But also, as the temperature difference (delta-T) between the fluid and the solar heated parts of the collector becomes smaller, efficiency also becomes smaller.
In a series setup, the first collector raises the temperature to some higher temp, "temp-1_out". Then the second collector begins with the higher temperature of temp-1_out, and with a smaller delta-T (and lower efficiency) raises the temp to "temp-2_out", etc.
-AC