The diagram depicts two distinct functions of solar panels: one for creating a warm breeze and the other for producing steaming water, demonstrating the flexible usage of solar technology.
Taking an overall view, it can be seen that the panel is a rectangular box with two-way directional tubes enclosed by a transparent sheet.
Breaking down the system’s structure, the glass is placed on top of the panel, where sunlight can pass through. The sun rays will be absorbed and converted into heat energy. The medium can be either cool air or cool water and its temperature will increase based on the amount of heat energy received. The inlet and outlet are positioned diagonally opposite to each other to retain as much thermal energy as possible before being released outside. That is also the reason why the transmission pipe is arranged in a zigzag pattern when heating water.
The solar panel’s purposes are explained in two pictures below. Focusing on the first function, cool air is sucked through an inlet, heated up by heat exchange with the sun rays and then blown outside. The process of warming up the water is fundamentally the same compared to the previous method. However, the pipe is needed to let the water flow through it.