Before you start any serious plumbing work, make sure you have the right tools. Your system schematic (you did create one, didn't you?) will tell you how much piping you need, as well as all the fittings and other consumables required.
You will also need:
There is a definite art to plumbing with copper pipes. Thankfully it's fairly quick to learn, though your first few cuts and joins are likely to produce amateur results. If you've never installed copper pipes before, buy some extra parts and practice!
If you're new to plumbing, you will want to practice soldering pipes before you try your skills on an actual solar thermal installation. It's not difficult but it's extremely important to do the job well or you'll get leaks and other problems. Practice makes perfect!
The simpler option for solar thermal space heating is to install what's known as a "dump" system. In this setup, there is no storage tank: the collectors heat the domestic supply when the sun is shining and send that heat to some kind of liquid-to-air interface, such as a radiator, a baseboard heating unit or a fan convector.
Although they are extremely efficient and produce very comfortable radiant floor heating, high-mass solar thermal systems can be difficult to live with, especially at first. They require changes in habits and it may take a few years to figure out the optimal approach for your particular situation. This article will provide the background knowledge and some pointers to help you along the way.
Drainback systems work very well for space heating applications without storage because, once they reach the target temperature, they can just switch off. All the solar fluid drains out of the pipes and collectors, meaning there's no risk of overheating, even during very hot periods when the system is inactive all day.
One of the most cost-effective alternatives to both liquid-based and high-mass space heating systems is an air-based installation. This is because the equipment used is relatively cheap and simple, and the transfer medium has no special requirements. Air-based systems cannot be used to heat a domestic water supply, but work well for space heating.
Pressurized systems for space heating are very similar to drainback installations, though they have additional considerations because the solar loop is always full. Unlike a drainback system, they can't just be switched off. This puts the system at risk of overheating during the hot months when it is not in use (assuming it is not drained).
Air-based space heating systems work very well in areas with high load requirements and, although they cannot be used to heat a domestic water supply, can generate as much heat as a liquid-based system. They are also very cost-efficient because the equipment is simpler and cheaper. Air-based systems come in two main types.
In general, solar thermal space heating installations that include storage use either water or sand as the heat storage medium. They use one big tank or a series of smaller ones plumbed together to provide the same volume of storage. If the system uses a single tank, it's generally unsealed: the tank can be opened without affecting the system, unlike pressurized tanks for domestic hot water applications. Both drainback and pressurized solar thermal systems can use storage tanks for space heating purposes.
