Mounting Solar Thermal Collector Arrays
Actually mounting the solar collectors comes after you've completed the long process of planning and marking out their locations on the roof. Follow these guidelines to install your collectors:
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How to Charge a Pressurized Solar Thermal System: Step 1
Before you can use a pressurized solar thermal system, you need to "charge" it with solar fluid (usually an antifreeze mixture of glycol and water) so that it has a heat transfer medium. There are three steps to the charging process:
Plumbing Roof-Mounted Solar Collector Arrays
When you're plumbing flat-plate collectors, you need to attach the incoming colder supply part of the solar loop to one end of the array, at the bottom. The outgoing hot part of the loop must exit at the other end of the array, at the top.
How to Charge a Pressurized Solar Thermal System: Step 2
There are three steps to the charging process. Make sure you read and understand all three stages before starting the charging process.
Roof Boots, Posts and Rails
Roof boots
How to Charge a Pressurized Solar Thermal System: Step 3
There are three steps to the charging process. Make sure you read and understand all three stages before starting the charging process.
Ground Mounts for Solar Collectors
Although almost all urban installations opt for roof-mounted arrays, ground mounting is a popular alternative because it is much more flexible. The biggest advantage is that the installation location can be chosen for optimum solar output rather than relying on which way the roof happens to point.
If you decide to ground-mount your collectors you should be aware of the following factors:
How to Charge a High-Mass Solar Thermal System
Charging a high-mass solar thermal heating system is much like charging a pressurized system. However, flushing all the air out is more complicated if you're running a combination system: you will need to flush each individual circuit. Always keep at least one circuit open during this procedure.
Controls for an Integrated Hydronic and Solar Thermal Setup
Combining a solar thermal heating system with an existing hydronic installation requires not only plumbing and solar equipment but some extra control gear – both electronic and hydronic – to divert fluid when needed. There are several options available in most cases.
In some situations, you will be able to wire the solar thermal setup into the existing thermostat control system so that the water supply passes through the solar storage tank's exchanger when there's enough heat to do some good.
How To Choose The Right Solar Thermal Pump - An Example
Let's walk through some example calculations for choosing the correct solar thermal system pump. We'll assume it's for a pressurized antifreeze system, so there's no static head to worry about, and we've installed three collectors, about 100 feet of Type L copper piping, one heat exchanger and a variety of fittings and valves.
1. Collector array flow and head
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