# TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Performance | Certification | Manufacturing | Quality | Science | System Design | MPPTt | MTTPt
Climate | Specifications SP501 | Training & Installer Information | Technical FAQ Sheet
 
Manufacturing  
The SP501 solar thermal collector is a major performance breakthrough in thermal energy generation in both blue-sky (sunny) and more challenging cloudy climates. The collector was designed, developed and rigorously tested in extreme climate conditions. The collector has a design life of 50 years and is manufactured from expensive anodized aluminum, pure copper, stainless steel and special high temperature ultra high U value solar insulation developed exclusively for the Surface Power SP501. The components are all boxed with their plumbing parts, roofing kit is mounted special internal packing boxes with shock proof packaging. The collector is one piece like a flat plate. All other components such as pipework cylinders, etc are high quality German components.
 
Quality    

The SP501 solar thermal collector is made from exceptionally high quality expensive materials. These materials are designed for long life operation. The collectors aluminum structures are all coated to allow for use in marine environments as standard. In each collector box is a full machined plumbing kit plus a long life coated mounting system including stainless steel roof bolts. Because of this exceptional quality product, we can guarantee a long life of solar delivery. All fittings are steam/high pressure standard and are individually made for each collector package.
 
     
Science  
The science is complex. Surface Power has developed several patents in the area of Solar Thermal technology. The use of thermodynamic laminar solar flow for use with MPPTt is a major breakthrough in performance standards. In a standard Vacuum collector you have a heatpipe evaporator and condenser. These work fine in blue sunny sky's but have significant transfer losses due to the requirement to heat up a metal manifold before the water gets heated. In a new technology DFNMT collector, it may look familiar from the outside but the inner workings are completely different. The DFNMT collector has a permanent convection pipe inside the vacuum tube usually around 6mm in diameter. The water which runs through your cylinder coil is also the same water which runs inside the collector tubes. The immediate advantage of this structure is that life span of the collector is greatly increased as there is no parts to fail or fade such as a heat pipe. The fast reaction and the increased heat retention of the Surface Power DFNMT solar collector are the reasons why they perform so well in winter and in cloudy conditions. DFNMT collectors were designed to work with thermodynamic solar laminar flows with MPPTt and all these technologies significantly outperform standard vacuum and flatplate collectors. These patented technologies have been developed by Surface Power and are exclusive to Surface Power solar systems.  
     
System Design  
  • Its important that the full design of your solar system is configured correctly. Having a solar system that is not designed correctly will not operate correctly. Your installer should be able to provide support from the manufacturer to back up their design or the design should come from the manufacturer directly. The choice of collector type (see below), the size of cylinder, pipework, holiday controls, etc and your particular climate will all effect how your system will perform. Typically, you should aim for a system design and collector choice which will operate all year round. Please see our standard configurations on our products page.
  
     
MPPTt - Maximum Power Point Tracking - thermal  

MPPTt is proprietary technology to Surface Power and its systems. It was primarily designed to deliver high power into solar air conditioning and solar refrigeration but it works fantastically in domestic solar hot water or solar central heating systems. This technology is a new science AND REPLACES THE OLDER DTC (Differential Temperature Control) methods. MPPTt is the latest in the operation and generation of solar thermal heat in collector format and is subject to many patents. Note: there will not be a descriptive outline of the different technology areas but you can see the results in real-time and you can read the following primer to get an understanding.

Read the MPPTt presentation here

Is your solar hot water system SLEEPING on the JOB ?

Please note that nearly all our technical and performance information is posted on our BLOG, click on the LOGO >>

  
     
MTTPt - Maximum Temperature Tracking Point - thermal  
MTTPt is new patented technology developed by Surface Power which drives thermoelectric semiconductor technology for the production of electricity and cooling using solar hot water. System's can also be used for solar hot water at the same time. We will update this shortly.    
     
Climate  
  • Climate considerations are very important. If you live in a climate with direct sunshine every year, you have more options on choice of collector. If your climate is cooler, cloudy, windy and/or wet, then you should be choosing DFNMT Direct Flow Vacuum Collectors for maximum performance with MPPTt. These collectors will work best in all climates. They are also suitable for air conditioning and heating & cooling systems and are the latest technology in solar thermal. Surface Power has the highest rated solar thermal systems in the world, now confirmed by several different government certifications.
     
  
 
Specifications  
Description Comment
Model SP501 DFNMT
Type DFNMT Solar Vacuum Collector Direct Flow Non Metal Transfer
Weight 34KG Light weight
Capacity 1.9L Low water capacity
Length 1610mm
Width 1060mm
Depth 100mm
Format 14 Power Tubes per collector Unique format to Surface Power
Glass Tube Borosilicate tube (Pyrex) Proprietary
Fluid De-Ionised Water Mandatory
Connections 1/2 or 15mm (mandatory)
Delivery format Fully assembled and boxed Goes straight from box to roof
Mounting All bracketing included Including roof bolts
Plumbing parts All included Collector plumbing
Positioning Vertical or Horizontal DFNMT can be laid flat
Insulation High performance U value
Maintenance No Maintenance
Lifespan Up to 50 years Long life collector design
Warranty 10 Years subject to receipt of warranty form
Applications Solar Hot Water, Heating, Air Conditioning, Water Treatment.
     
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