Solar Powered Hot Water Service
By Oze Parrot
A solar powered water heating system, is made up of a solar heat collector, housed in an insulated framework, one side of which, is made up of toughened glass that faces the sun's arc. The complete unit, or panel, must be placed in an unobstructed, elevated position so as to capture the maximum amount of daily sunshine. Depending upon heating requirements, a group of solar panels can be placed in parallel, in order to deliver the desired amount of heated water to the hot water receiver.
The most common heat collector, used for solar hot water systems, is a very fine sheet of copper plating that covers the insulated base of the collector's framework. A series of copper tubes are placed on the copper plating and are connected to a small header tank at either end of the unit. Should the copper tubes be of half inch diameter, then they would normally be placed about four inches apart to cover the entire collector. Ideally, the surface areas between the copper tubing and the collector plate would be airtight and pained black, in order to absorb the maximum amount of heat from the sun's rays. The solar panel must be sealed and made completely weather proof.
When mounted, a solar panel should be inclined at an angle of about forty five degrees in order to enable maximum exposure to the sun. A panel can be mounted on a free standing frame, or the pitch of a roof, provided that the chosen area can support the weight of the panel and a fifty gallon hot water receiver.
For best results, the receiver should be placed in a position where it is higher than the solar panel to assist the flow of hot water rising from the panel. Cool water is fed from a port near the bottom of the receiver into the lower tank of the solar panel, and is forced through the collector tubes, where it is heated by solar energy. The heated water is collected in the header tank at the top of the panel and then piped into a port near the top of the receiver. This delivery pipe must have a non return valve just before the port into the receiver. This is to prevent the unit from reverse cycling during the night when the solar panel is cold.
Hot water can be piped to its destination from a delivery port near the top of the receiver, for best results this pipe should be insulated. The solar panel is extremely efficient during sunny days and will actually produce boiling water. For this reason, a pressure release valve must be installed on the very top of the receiver, and have an outlet to a gutter or drain to dispense with the scalding water and steam.
Sufficient solar energy can still be drawn from the sun during the winter to keep your solar panel working. As well as for kitchen and bathroom requirements, solar heated water can be piped to space heating units throughout the home or used to heat the swimming pool during the cooler months.
Oze Parrot is an author, publisher and Internet marketing consultant.
Formerly a tourist operator and real estate business marketing consultant
Location: Queensland, Australia.
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