Solar energy collector with collapsible supporting structure

A solar energy collector comprising a body formed of plastic material in a one-piece unitary construction having an inlet manifold and an outlet manifold at the opposite ends thereof, and a multiplicity of elongated parallel flow passages in laterally spaced relation extending between and connecting said manifolds, each of said passages defined by a bottom wall and an exposed top wall surface having angularly related sloping wall portions extending in a diverging relation from a common apex juncture for presenting a maximum exposed surface to solar rays, and an inlet restriction adjacent at least one end of each passage said restriction defined by the top wall portions and a limited section of the bottom wall, said bottom wall section displaced upwardly into closer proximity to the top wall apex than the position of the bottom wall along the remaining elongated flow passage, said displaced bottom wall extending into said flow passage and thereby reducing the cross sectional area of said passage.