Almeco’s absorbers with the patented “Tinox Outdoor” coating can be installed quickly and easily on the façade, without an additional transparent cover. The coating structure was specially developed for this application in industrial and commercial halls and it offers “first-class long-term weather protection with unrivalled low heat radiation”, as Stephan Feustel, sales manager for Tinox absorbers at Almeco explains:
“With our Tinox Outdoor solar thermal once again becomes part of the building envelope. Old façades that are only made to shield the interior from external influences, will become smart, online monitored heat sources and important pillars for ventilation and air-conditioning technology”.
Tinox Outdoor, a highly efficient and sustainable absorber
Tinox Outdoor is applied to aluminum sheet using an environmentally friendly vacuum coating process. The sheets can be formed into all common façade elements to combine efficiency and safety: thanks to the inorganic non-toxic compounds in the coating, in fact, they meet fire protection class A1.
Tinox Outdoor has a thermal emissivity that is about 90 per cent lower than that of conventional coating systems. This significantly reduces the heat radiation loss of the façade, which results in higher working temperatures.
The new coating is suitable for use in air collectors, to increase the performance of solar ventilation systems and heat pumps, and also for water-guided solar systems. It is available in blue and black.
Tinox Outdoor complements the product range with two highly selective absorbers:
- Tinox Energy, Almeco’s standard product. The absorbers can be customised and are used for glazed flat-plate and air collectors as well as vacuum tube collectors;
- Tinox Robust, specially developed for flat-plate collectors in harsh environmental conditions, for example at the seaside or in an industrial environment.
First large-scale commercial project kicks off
The company has already tested Tinox Outdoor in small pilot projects in Canada, the USA and Europe, and now is moving towards a first large-scale commercial project in Pennsylvania, USA.
The project involves ATAS International, a manufacturer of metal roofs, wall cladding and ceilings, who has developed a new air collector with this absorber. It is used in the solar air heating system on the south façade of the production hall of Brightsmith Coil Coaters in Morrisville, where 2,600 square metres of unglazed collectors with Tinox outdoor absorbers heat the factory building during the heating season. During summer, solar-heated air escapes upwards during the day, and cooler outdoor air is pumped through the collector array into the building’s interior at night.
“Monovalent, fossil-fuel building energy supply is out. The future is certainly a mix of photovoltaics, solar thermal and heat pumps, etc.” Stephan Feustel is convinced.
“Adapted from original German version by Ina Röpcke / Solar thermal yearbook SOLARE WÄRME”
