In Japan an estimated 10,000,000 homes use this technology to heat their homes. In North America solar water heating is quickly growing as the price of solar collectors fall and governments support the use of clean energy, financially. A hot water system is in most cases done using a close loop system with glycol mixture running through the primary side of a heat exchanger. Special solar water tanks are now available that have the heat exchanger built directly inside the system,
Existing solar hot water heaters can also be quickly adapted by using a primary storage hot water tank before the existing secondary tanks. Using a heat exchanger and solar system would heat the primary storage tank. Water would then be drawn into the existing water tank as needed. This is perhaps the most common type of home water heating as the current system is left in place and solar water compliments the system. When installing a hot water system, a controller and pump are required. There should also be proper pressure release valves used.
Solar Pool Heating - Using Solar Pool Heaters
A Solar Pool Pump Station and Controller is used to move heated water (or glycol) through the closed loop pool heating system. The pool water is circulated through a heat exchanger instead of directly through the solar pool heater collectors. This means the harsh environment of the chlorines or salt water never is in contact with the solar loop. This is a critcal factor in longevity of the solar pool heating system. A small solar pump activates the solar heating loop when the temperature of the collectors is greater than that of the pool water. The computer controller has many other features such as freeze protection which activates the pump when there is a chance of freezing to minimize damage to the system. It also has nocturnal cooling that will activate the solar loop during the night if the pool gets too hot.
Integration with domestic hot water and solar space heating - The best part of our solar water heater is that they can easily be expanded to cover other areas of home heating. By pairing a solar pool heating system with a a solar domestic hot water system or solar space heating you can maximize your investment. Now when the cold season arrives and you shut down the pool, you simply switch your solar pool heaters into space heating and domestic hot water for the winter months, giving you 365 days a year of solar heating.
Closed Loop versus Open Loop - Most other solar pool heating systems utilize the existing pool pump. Depending on the height of the collectors you may find the pool pump may need to be upgraded to overcome the head pressure (vertical rise). This also causes the pump to run harder resulting in more elecrity cost and earlier failure. Our systems are based on a closed loop design and utilize a heat exchagner. A cloed loop system has not vertical head pressure to over come, Ther gravitational pull back down is equal to the gravitationally head pressure. By using a closed loop system a much smaller circulation pump can be used and collectors can be mounted on higher roofs than with an open loop systems of the past.
Combination solar heating systems with the ability to heat both hot water and pools/hot tubs/ home heating, are the latest in solar thermal technology. Reliable controllers with multiple zones allow solar thermal to expand into complete Home & Industrial heating automation with higher paybacks than ever!
Solar Pool Heat Exchangers - A titanium solar pool heat exchanger is needed if you are using a salt water pool. While the stainless steel of the TZ58-1800 30R collectors can handle chlorine or bromine, high levels of salt or sea water can lead to early failure of the manifold. If you are using salt water for sanitization you may want to consider a specially designed solar heat exchanger that has maximum water flow and heat transfer while maintaining a barrier between the salt water and your solar system.
Combination Solar Pool Heating - Most pools are seasonal in the North/Central USA and Canada. However, a solar pool heater can be combined with a solar home heating system or solar water heating system to provide the maximum benefits and return on your investments. Solar works great in the winter and most pool owners simply shut there solar pool heaters. A combination solar pool heating system utilizes the solar in the winter for other applications such as home heating or domestic hot water. This is a great way to maximize your investment and allows you to be eligible for the vast number of solar grants that are not available for just solar pool heating applications. When designing a solar combination pool heating system, you need to used our more advanced TZ58-1800 30R heat pipe collectors that can be used in freezing climates as well as in higher operational pressures such as your main domestic water supply. Call us and we will help you build a complete solar heating solution for both your pool and home.