Design and experimental test for solar chimney power plant: Case study in Riau Province, Indonesia

Solar chimney is an energy generator that utilizes solar thermal energy. The working principle air is heated in the solar collector, the increased temperature causes downward pressure, and the air density becomes reduced to create a buoyance force or air moving upward through the chimney. This research aimed to investigate the theoretical design in determining dimension of solar chimney and experimental data test. The solar chimney made with collector roof area of 1.3225 m² with clear glass as thick as 5 mm. Chimney is made from PVC pipe with 83 mm inner diameter and high 193 cm. The material of solar chimney made of aluminum pipe. Experimental data was taken on March 2017 from 11:00 AM to 15:00 (3 PM). The design power output was 0.03 watt and the actual values ranged between 0.0133 watt and 0.0317 watt The design of chimney inlet air velocity was 2.15 m/s while the actual value varied from 1.4 m/s to around 2.2 m/s. These results show that the design is able to assess the potential of solar chimney system in Riau Province.