This post is part of a series of posts highlighting the feasibility of Solar Thermal when compared to Solar Photovoltaic modules.Find the previous post on Mechanical Trackers, here.
An another area where Solar Thermal systems have considerable advantage over Solar PV is the with regard to the load that is exerted on the modules.Due to the various environmental factors like weight, wind and rain two types of load are exerted on the supporting structures of both types of modules – static loads and dynamic loads.
The static loads are usually due to the self weight of the modules whereas dynamic loads are due to winds.
Static loads are usually much less dangerous compared to dynamic loads.
Dynamic loads being variable in nature tend to cause more damage.
Let us study the various loads that act on the systems based on the design.
PV modules being a single plate like structure have more dynamic loads acting on them.
Solar Thermal modules donot have this problem as it consists of Evacuated tubes which have gaps in between resulting in low load exertion.