Solar Water Heater Basics
Evacuated tubes are the absorber of the solar water heater. They absorb solar energy converting it into heat for use in water heating. Evacuated tubes have already been used for years in Germany, Canada, China and the UK. There are several types of evacuated tubes in use in the solar industry. Jinyi collectors use the most common twin-glass tube. This type of tube is chosen for its reliability, performance and low manufacturing cost. Each evacuated tube consists of two glass tubes made from extr...
What is Solar Collector? A solar thermal collector collects heat by absorbing sunlight. The term solar collector commonly refers to a device for solar hot water heating, but may refer to large power generating installations such as solar parabolic troughs and solar towers or non water heating devices such as solar air heaters. Solar thermal collectors are either non-concentrating or concentrating. In non-concentrating collectors, the aperture area (i.e., the area that receives the solar radiatio...
Solar water heating collectors capture and retain heat from the sun and transfer this heat to a liquid. Solar thermal heat is trapped using the greenhouse effect, in this case is the ability of a reflective surface to transmit short wave radiation and reflect long wave radiation. Heat and infrared radiation (IR) are produced when short wave radiation light hits a collectors absorber, which is then trapped inside the collector. Fluid, usually water, in contact with the absorber collects the trapp...
Solar hot water is appropriate for nearly every household, north or south. Of course, access to good sunlight is requisite, but most people have enough of it. The first step is making sure. If you have a roof that you are sure gets sunlight for a few hours a day, even in the winter, then the next step is to survey the site with a tool like the Solar Pathfinder. Most professional solar companies have a siting tool, or they can sometimes be borrowed from a local energy agency. But if you have dawn...
Using solar hot water is easily integrated into most peoples lifestyles. Once a system is installed and commissioned, it rarely takes any maintenance at all. The three main uses for SHW are: Domestic hot water is perhaps the best known of solar water heating applications. Nearly every home uses hot water every day, with the typical. household being around 50-120L per person per day. This covers showers, dish washing, and clothes washing. Hot water is stored in a tank for when it is needed. An en...
Estimating the Cost and Energy Efficiency of a Solar Water Heater Solar water heaters are more efficient the gas or electric heaters. Solar water heating systems usually cost more to purchase and install than conventional water heating systems. However, a solar water heater can usually save you money in the long run. How much money you save depends on the following: The amount of hot water you use Your systems performance Your geographic location and solar resource Available financing and incent...
Siting Your Solar Water Heating System Before you buy and install a solar water heating system, you need to first consider your sites solar resource, as well as the optimal orientation and tilt of your solar collector. The efficiency and design of a solar water heating system depends on how much of the suns energy reaches your building site. Solar water heating systems use both direct and diffuse solar radiation. Even if you dont live in a climate thats warm and sunny most of the time, your site...
Building codes and regulations for solar water heater systems Before installing a solar water heater system, you should investigate local building codes, zoning ordinances, and subdivision covenants, as well as any special regulations pertaining to the site. You will probably need a building permit to install a solar energy system onto an existing building. Not every community or municipality initially welcomes residential renewable energy installations. Although this is often due to ignorance o...
