Converting Sunshine Into Solar Hot Water Explained
Solar
Hot Water
panels mounted on a roof are
connected to pipes containing a heating fluid mixture of water and
antifreeze. When the sun heats up the solar collectors the hot fluid
is pumped through the pipes to a heat exchange coil in the new solar
hot water cylinder. Here the captured solar energy is transferred
from the hot fluid in the coil to the household's hot water supply.
The hot water in the cylinder is connected to the taps, shower,
washing machine, etc in the usual way.
In order for the solar water heating system to run safely and
efficiently, a range of valves are installed in the heating fluid
circuit. A series of temperature sensors are connected to a digital
solar controller to switch the system on or off according to the
solar energy available.
On days of limited sunlight, solar energy alone may not be
sufficient to heat the household's water to a usable temperature. In
this case your conventional boiler or your immersion heater (if
fitted) can be used to further boost the temperature of the solar
heated water.
Choosing the
right system
As with all technologies there are good and not so good solar water
heating systems. When choosing a solar water heating system there
are a number of points to consider:
1.Hot water storage cylinder
2.The size of the hot water storage
cylinder is generally determined by the amount of hot water your
household uses in a day.
3.Typical daily hot water usage:
(Below)
standard sized bath 60L
corner bath 120L
shower / power shower 15-60L
washing machine 50L
kitchen sink 15L
bathroom washbasin 5L
A new solar hot water storage cylinder is usually fitted in the
airing cupboard replacing your existing storage cylinder. If the
space around your existing storage cylinder is limited an
alternative position or design can normally be agreed.
Size and quantity of solar
collectors
Allow around one square meter of collector surface area for every 45
- 50 liters of hot water to be stored.
Position of solar
collector
Collectors in the UK work best when facing south and at an angle of
around 35 degrees from the horizontal.
Durability
A well designed and constructed solar water heating system should
provide many years of good service with little maintenance.
Cost
Assuming a life span in excess of 20 years, solar water heating
offers good value for money when comparing the initial investment to
the cost of a household's current heating fuels. The costs of
conventional heating may increase over the years as existing oil and
gas supplies diminish and 'pollution taxes' are levied.
It is also important to consider the cost of electricity to run the
solar heating system (pump, controls etc). For a typical home this
is less than £5 per year.
Solar water heating cannot be considered good value if the initial
system cost is too expensive. For this reason it is important to
shop around for a competitively priced system using high quality
components.
Installation Below By HomeBrewPower Below (Old Leake - Boston - Lincolnshire - UK)
