Bottom supported solar receiver panel apparatus and method

A solar receiver apparatus for absorbing heat from a fluid heated by solar energy, comprising:

• a plurality of solar receiver panels, each of said solar receiver panels having a bottom portion and a top portion;
• and
• at least one bottom clip joining said bottom portion of a given said solar receiver panel to a given sub-plurality of fluid conducting tubes connected to a first header proximate said bottom portion and a second header proximate said top portion, said bottom clip supporting an entire weight of said sub-plurality of said tubes at a point between said first and second headers;
• said sub-plurality of said tubes being able to expand upwardly in relation to said bottom portion of their associated said solar receiver panel under thermal flux conditions;
• said clip including a slidable sleeve and a linear guide rod that receives said slidable sleeve to accommodate expansion of said tubes and to maintain said tubes in the same vertical plane during expansion of said tubes.

A method of supporting a solar receiver panel, the method comprising the steps of:

• securing a support clip to a plurality of solar receiver panel tubes having a first header at a first end of said tubes and a second header at a second end of said tubes, said support clip being attached at a bottom portion of said solar receiver panel, said support clip including a guide rod mounted to a bracket and a slidable sleeve mounted to said tubes;
• supporting an entire weight of said solar receiver tubes with said support clip at a point between said first and second headers;
• and
• circulating a fluid inside said tubes, said tubes being allowed to thermally expand upwardly in relation to said bottom portion upon said fluid increasing in temperature and causing a resultant increase in a temperature of said tubes, said slidable sleeve slidable along said guide rod to accommodate expansion of said tubes and to maintain said tubes in the same vertical plane through the range of expansion.