Ranking, optimum selection and evaluation of a flat plate liquid solar collector using TOPSIS approach

Selection of an optimal solar flat plate liquid collector (FPLSC) for a particular application is very complex. In this study, a new method is presented for selecting and evaluating a FPLSC to overcome the difficulties in selecting the system according to the required application. An exhaustive database is formed in terms of pertinent attributes of FPLSC. This database help user to differentiate the available FPLSC systems precisely and select the suitable system in less time and is useful to the designers and manufacturers as well. In the present study, a 3-stage selection method is presented for evaluating and ranking a flat plate solar collector. In the first stage, a few particular systems are identified from the available systems based on optimum attribute values as per the application. In the second stage, evaluation is done using TOPSIS to find out the best from the selected systems. In the third stage, final selection is made taking into account of the user constraints. This methodology is explained with an illustration.