Performance of Solar Concentrator with and without Mirror Coating Paper

The utilization of solar energy continues to be developed to get the best efficiency. This energy can
be used for electricity generation, cooling, and/or drying. One technology that is still under development
is the use of solar concentrators. Therefore, our paper aims to measure the performance of the
development of a solar collection unit coated with mirror paper. Furthermore, the data is compared with
the test data for solar concentrators without mirror paper that was carried out by previous researchers in
2019. The method used in this research is a field experiment. A simple statistical comparison method was
carried out on the experimental data. Field testing was conducted after the solar concentrator was coated
with mirror paper. The test was carried out for 5 days in full shining sun conditions in Sukabumi
Regency, Indonesia. The surface coating of the solar concentrator with mirror paper has not been able to
improve the performance of the solar concentrator satisfactorily. Solar concentrators can heat the fluid
from its initial average temperature of 19.37 %.

Keywords: Appropriate technology, Energy, Heating, Mirror coating paper, Solar concentrator