Heat Exchangers for Solar Thermal Systems
Solar thermal installations use liquid-to-liquid heat exchangers exclusively: on one side, there's the solar fluid that travels from the collector; on the other there's the water being heated.
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Pumps for Solar Thermal Systems
The pumps used in solar thermal installations come in both AC and DC models. It is important to choose a model that not only fits your electrical supply but which is also compatible with the rest of the system, in terms of construction materials.
Heat Your Pool with Solar Power
Pool Heating with Solar
What Types of Pipes Does my Solar Thermal System Need?
It's important to make one thing very clear when discussing piping materials for a solar thermal installation: copper or stainless steel are currently the only sensible choices.
It may be tempting to try to use a flexible material like rubber or Pex, but it won't work: there's a very good chance you'll have to replace all your piping within the first year of operation because it simply cannot withstand the constantly high operating temperatures of the system.
Solar Thermal Pipe Insulation
The problem with pipe insulation is that solar thermal systems operate at extremely high temperatures, all the time. You can forget most types of plastic and rubber insulation immediately, because they'll just melt off.
Solar Hot Water Systems
A solar water heater can operate together with your current electric or fossil-fuel water heater to supply a portion of the home's total hot water heating requirement. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutants and the cost of your water heating.
Solar Hot Water System Design
You can find plenty of water heating systems using solar energy today, including home-built designs that are simple but effective, like the batch heater. This design has no outer jacket or insulation blanket but is painted black and placed in an insulated plywood box. There is a plastic or glass glazing covering the assembly, which is angled to solar south. Pressurized domestic water goes into the tank’s bottom and heated water comes out from the top to your home’s hot water heater.
Operation of a Solar Hot Water System
When your system is installed and operating, you can monitor its performance through the storage tank temperature and the heat exchanger’s inlet and outlet temperature difference. Tiny, slow leaks are tell-tale signs of poor performance and can be monitored on the pressure gauge. When the temperature of the circulation fluid changes, the system pressure rises and falls but the average pressure at rest should be the same throughout.
What is Active Solar Heating?
A simple concept for solar heating is the use of cladding material on south-, west- or east-facing walls. Small gaps enable air to flow in from outside. In the daytime, air passes across the solar panels as well as along their inner surfaces, absorbing the sun's rays to warm the air, causing it to rise. This hot air is drawn into the ventilation system of the building, reducing the load on the heating system. On hot days, such systems can heat air by as much as 30-50°F (17-28°C), depending on the rate of flow.
Solar Energy Heating and Cooling
When fuel prices rise, everyone goes on the alert. No one was concerned when oil prices were low, using it freely for their cars and homes even though early '70s automobiles were comparable in size with tanker ships that carry Saudi Arabian crude to North America! Home design and construction were carried out with little consideration for energy efficiency or fuel consumption.
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