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About
Solar Water Heating Systems!
"At
SolarTaos.com we have
been living and running our woodshop with clean,
reliable electric made by the
sun
and
Wind
for over Two decades and we love it and we know you will too!"
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Solar water heating systems consist primarily of three basic designs, and some variations:
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Passive
Solar
Hot
Water
Heating
Systems |
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Passive solar is simply allowing the heat of the sun to transfer this heat to water. Basically you use a black container which is filled with water and allow the sun to do its thing. During sunny days the container heats up and when the sun goes down the heat in the container provides heat by radiated back to you. This is a good way of providing heat to your house. Water walls are built along the south wall of the house and can be somewhat efficient in reducing your heating bills. Passive water batch collectors can be placed on roofs and the hot water can be used for domestic hot water until it cools down in the evening. Since these collectors have very few moving parts they are ideal in warmer climates and can be used as pre-warmers for an existing water heating system. These systems should not be used where there is freezing conditions or should only be used during the warmer months and drained during the months that are freezing. Thermosiphon systems are a kind of passive solar hot water heating that employ the use of flat plate solar collectors. The solar panels usually are mounted at a lower elevation than the storage water to be heated. Thermosiphon systems can circulate potable water or utilize a heat exchanger and heat exchange fluid. For potable water systems, the cooler water at the bottom of the storage tank is thermally siphoned to the hotter water near the solar collector by the raising temperature and volume of the warmer water, initiating a circulation of the storage water through the collectors fluid passage ways back into the top of the storage tank. The circulation continues until the temperature at the bottom of the storage tank is about the same as the temperature of the outlet pipe at the top the solar collector. Thermosiphon systems using a heat exchanger work on the same principle by circulating a nonfreezing solar exchange fluid through an internal heat exchanger installed inside the solar storage tank, instead of circulating potable water. This type of system is usually installed in climates that experience freezing temperatures to prevent freeze damage of the solar collectors and siphon pipes. |
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little
more
complicated,
yet giving
you more
control
over your
system.
Using
highly
efficient
solar flat
plate
collectors
for the
heating
process.
These
collectors
are
usually
made up of
a number
of
parallel
copper
risers
that are
assembled
into a
panel.
They are
designed
to gather
as much
heat from
the sun as
possible.
These
collector
panels
have
become
much more
efficient
than ones
used
during the
last
decade and
they are
the main
component
in an
effective
solar
water
heating
system.|
Open Loop
Solar Hot
Water
Heating
Systems |
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Open-loop systems work by circulating water through the solar collectors to a water storage tank using a small circulating pump. The pump is activated by a differential thermostat controller that senses when heat is available in the solar collectors or if a solar pump is used, it will be activated by sun rays hitting the PV solar panel. A solar storage tank connects to the existing system or existing hot water heater and feeds the preheated solar water into the system. Where pipes can freeze, the solar collectors and feed lines are usually protected from freezing by automatic drain down controls. These Drain down systems allow the water in the pipes and panels to fall safely back out of the solar collectors and feed pipes to prevent freezing. These types of systems are "open loop" since the energy collection loop is not separate from the rest of the hot water system and sharing the same water. Open-loop systems have less cost because they are generally less expensive to install and they do not require an anti-freeze solution or heat exchangers. They are also more efficient than closed-loop systems since they heat the water directly from the solar collectors. Sort of cutting out the middle man as it were. However if you live in a colder climate where there is concern about prolong freezing cold nights and days, you should consider a closed-loop system. Because if there is a failure of a valve, you could really cause major damage to you solar collectors. Thereby out weighing all its advantages. We do not recommend open-loop system in regions where there is deep freezes.
system
configuration
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Passive
Solar
Hot
Water
Heating
Systems |
|
Passive solar is simply allowing the heat of the sun to transfer this heat to water. Basically you use a black container which is filled with water and allow the sun to do its thing. During sunny days the container heats up and when the sun goes down the heat in the container provides heat by radiated back to you. This is a good way of providing heat to your house. Water walls are built along the south wall of the house and can be somewhat efficient in reducing your heating bills. Passive water batch collectors can be placed on roofs and the hot water can be used for domestic hot water until it cools down in the evening. Since these collectors have very few moving parts they are ideal in warmer climates and can be used as pre-warmers for an existing water heating system. These systems should not be used where there is freezing conditions or should only be used during the warmer months and drained during the months that are freezing. Thermosiphon systems are a kind of passive solar hot water heating that employ the use of flat plate solar collectors. The solar panels usually are mounted at a lower elevation than the storage water to be heated. Thermosiphon systems can circulate potable water or utilize a heat exchanger and heat exchange fluid. For potable water systems, the cooler water at the bottom of the storage tank is thermally siphoned to the hotter water near the solar collector by the raising temperature and volume of the warmer water, initiating a circulation of the storage water through the collectors fluid passage ways back into the top of the storage tank. The circulation continues until the temperature at the bottom of the storage tank is about the same as the temperature of the outlet pipe at the top the solar collector. Thermosiphon systems using a heat exchanger work on the same principle by circulating a nonfreezing solar exchange fluid through an internal heat exchanger installed inside the solar storage tank, instead of circulating potable water. This type of system is usually installed in climates that experience freezing temperatures to prevent freeze damage of the solar collectors and siphon pipes. |
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Active
Solar
Hot Water
Systems |
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Active
solar
heating
requires
a bit more
components
than
passive
systems
making it
a
There
are two
basic
designs
used in
active
solar
water
heating
systems
and they
are the
Open Loop
and the
Closed
Loop
Systems.
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Open Loop
Solar Hot
Water
Heating
Systems |
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Open-loop systems work by circulating water through the solar collectors to a water storage tank using a small circulating pump. The pump is activated by a differential thermostat controller that senses when heat is available in the solar collectors or if a solar pump is used, it will be activated by sun rays hitting the PV solar panel. A solar storage tank connects to the existing system or existing hot water heater and feeds the preheated solar water into the system. Where pipes can freeze, the solar collectors and feed lines are |