Evaluation of the actual solar irradiance received by a V-shaped solar still

The demand for freshwater is in increasing with time because of global warming. The method of producing freshwater is vast. However, the use of the thermal energy of the sun is one of the promising techniques nowadays. This work proposes a new geometry of the solar still that is used to produce a distilled water out of saline water. The current paper consists of a design of the solar still in V-shape and measurement some of the main performance parameters such as the temperature of the glass cover and water, the subjected solar irradiance, and the water production under Iraqi environment conditions. The results reporting interesting points, such as a continuous rise in the temperature difference between the cover glass and the water (ΔT) with a little reduction from the peak time (14:00 hr) with ΔT =11 °C and lowest time for solar irradiance at (18:00 hr.) with ΔT =9.0 °C. moreover, the results showed that the actual solar irradiance that the system captures is much less than the actual amount the earth receives. The current data of this design suggests the need for a new method of efficiency calculation taking into consideration the thermal capacity of the system.