Posts Tagged ‘solar hot water’
Make a Solar Water Heater
Why not use the power of the sun to provide you with a domestic hot water heating system? Building a diy solar water heating system is easy and cheap – some people manage to do it for less than 100 dollars. Ready made solar water heaters usually cost over 1,000 dollars so making a solar water heater yourself will save you hundreds of dollars, paying for itself in a month or two. Then your hot water will be free!
The sun will heat your water anywhere in the world – even in the winter! It might not heat all your hot water (it often does, however) but it will certainly make a huge difference in your heating costs. Expect to save at least one third. Solar water heaters are simple devices, very efficient and environmentally friendly. It is quite possible to make and fit one of these systems over a weekend, provided you plan the job in advanceand assemble all the necessary parts.
A typical solar water heater system simply includes a collector box with integral water pipes that are connected to the existing domestic hot and cold water pipes near your hot water cylinder. A drain valve is usually fitted in case you need to isolate the solar water heater for any reason, such as going away for a winter vacation. Doing this work is very easy, and you do not have to be any kind of expert. The solar collector box will be sited and angled to face the sun at noon, and this can be on a roof or against a suitable wall. Your local hardware store will have all the materials you need, although you will probably find you already have some of them in your shed.
Making and fitting such a system will not interfere with or harm your existing hot water installation. In fact, by reducing the operating demands on your existing system, the solar water heater will help extend the service of your boiler or immersion heater as well as save on utility bills. Also, this is free energy that helps reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and reduces our carbon emissions, so there is an environmental bonus for installing a solar hot water system as well.
You can use it for other things as well. Solar hot water systems can be used for heating swimming pools by providing a gentle, all-year-round source of free heating. Are you thinking about underfloor heating, or do you already have such a central heating system? This typically uses a constant supply of warm (not hot) water with a low flow rate. A diy solar water heating system is an ideal way of getting free heat in your house.
It is amazing how satisfying it is to build a simple system that provides constant hot water without hurting our planet.
These solar water heating systems are simple and fitting them is straightforward, but it is very easy to make mistakes that will be hard to rectify later. It makes a lot of sense to get expert guidance and advice at the planning stage and before you start to build. The cost will be very small, and you will get full assurance that you are doing the job properly and safely. You will find out more about this on our specialized website.
In conclusion, we know from experience that making and fitting a solar water heating system will give you immense satisfaction, a lot of fun and really significant savings, so why not give it a try?
SOLAR ENERGY HISTORY THROUGH THE AGES
The earliest known uses of solar energy date from way back in the 7th Century BC.
The Ancient Egyptians used the sun’s heat to make bricks, which were formed by mixing mud and straw together and baking them in the sun.Ancient Greeks and Romans recognised the benefits of what we now call passive solar design – using architecture to maximise the sun’s capacity to heat and light indoor spaces.
By building houses that faced south, they were able to get the most out of the winter sun.In this way, they were also able to cut back on firewood which was not always readily available, making early use of renewable energy. The Romans advanced the concept of solar design by using glass for windows, and even promulgated a law which made it illegal to obscure a neighbour’s access to sunlight.
Energy from the sun was also used by the Ancient Greeks who used bronze shields to focus the sun’s rays onto the wooden ships of the Roman army, setting them on fire. Some native American cultures built their homes against the sides of rocky cliffs to benefit from the natural storage of heat harnessed during the day.
Later on in 1767, a Swiss scientist called Horace de Saussure was believed to have constructed the first solar collector, but the real momentum for solar energy development came in 1839 when French scientist, Edmond Bequerel discovered the photovoltaic effect.The fact that exposing materials to light increased electric current was his major discovery.
The French continued experimentation with solar power, with mathematician Auguste Mouchout inventing the first active solar motor as well as a steam engine powered entirely by the sun. Both inventions failed due to high production costs.
Over the years around the world, scientists experimented with solar power. In 1876, William Grylls Adams discovered that selenium produced electricity when exposed to light, without the need for heat or moving parts.
In 1921, Albert Einstein who is better known for his Theory of Relativity, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his theories on the photoelectric effect.
In the 1950s, Bell Laboratories (now known as AT & T Laboratories) developed the first silicon solar cell which could generate a measurable electric current.For the first time, a cell had been designed that was able to convert sufficient quantities of the sun’s energy into power to run everyday appliances.
The first practical application of photovoltaic silicon solar cells also came in the 1950s with the launch of the satellite, Vanguard 1.In 1981, the first aircraft powered by solar power, flew from France to England, using 3 000W of power from 16 000 solar cells.
Solar power research really came to the fore in 1973 with the oil crisis as the economies of the western world scrambled to develop alternatives to oil.When Dr Elliot Berman developed a solar cell that had more practical cost implications in the 1970s, it was the catalyst for the design of a much wider range of applications including lighthouses, off-shore oil rigs and remote homes.
Concern for the environment has been a major driver of research into renewable energy sources, including solar power, geothermal and wind power.While the world has moved on significantly from the very early days of solar energy, the basic theory of solar power as a viable alternative to fossil fuels remains intact.
Solar Hot Water- a perfect means to save electricity
Persons of the recent times are extremely conscious about the environmental concerns. Currently, the governments of most nations are seeking various energy sources that are more reasonably priced and fitting. These days, individuals opt for the solar energy to decrease the environmental effluence. Nowadays, we can simply spot a solar hot water system at numerous abodes. The hot water systems support us to hoard outsized figures because they are extremely biodegradable. As balanced to other hot water systems like gas hot water or electric hot water systems, the solar hot water systems have a tremendously fewer performance cost. Erecting a hot water system by own self is the most enjoyed ease of the recent times. Still, the practice to construct an electric or gas hot water system is not effortless. Today, there are numerous online sites that would help you on how you can make up a solar hot water system for yourself.
The solar hot water systems are available at extremely economical rates, today. These systems bestow you with expediency in addition to also reduce the sums of your electricity bills. Even, the maintenance of solar hot water systems is simple, as compared to other hot water systems. For the solar hot water systems, only minimum preservation is sufficient. The solar hot water system also does not collapse like other hot water systems. In the recent times, the solar hot water systems are certainly the flawless technique to revive electricity. Now, these contemporary wonders are demanded by more as well as more folks, across the earth.
Usually, the electricity bill consists of roughly fifteen percent of the total power Used up by the hot water system. A double expenditure of hot water system is perceived in those houses, which have more young people. Therefore, in houses like these, the solar hot water systems would prove just like a godsend. If you have installed the solar hot water system at your abode, then you don’t have to worry much for its continuation. Therefore, you would have complete cost for your investment, after you install a solar hot water system at your house. In the existing times, the solar hot water systems are regarded as the most realistic way to save electricity.
Making Solar Hot Water
I just found this at newenergytips.com. It’s not bad: Are you looking for ways to convert your house to provide you with solar hot water? Solar water is an easy thing to come by, if you know how to harness it.
There are several reasons you might be looking to harness solar hot water. Top reasons are:
Actively heating air
Passive space heating
Generating space heat or cooling
Heating a pool
Before you try to embark on any solar hot water projects, it is recommended that you perform a solar site survey to know just exactly how much solar hot water (or electricity) you can expect to reasonably get, knowing the area of the country you reside in and the solar patterns in your area. This survey is only about an hour long, but can prove invaluable.
Methods of Generating Solar Hot Water
The two most easily found, and as a result most common types of solar hot water producing machines are the flat-plate type of collector and the evacuated tube.
Flat Pate Collectors
Flat plate solar collectors are not as expensive than the evacuated tube type , but you also tend to need more of them to achieve the same result .These collectors are simply plates, as their name suggests, much like a car’s radiator inside.
Evacuated Tube Collectors
Perhaps one of the easiest ways to generate solar hot water that is becoming more popular today is to use evacuated tubes (or “collectors”). These are relatively new , and are glass tubes, removed of all air (a vacuum is a good heat conductor, and allows heat to flow more freely from the outside to the inside metal plates than if air were inside the tube ).
Having tiny metal pipes running the entire length of the tube that are essentially heat fins, their job is to collect heat. At about 6 feet long, they have connectors on each end to connect to the home’s heat circulation system.
A “transfer fluid” that is usually alcohol is circulated in the tubes that can generate, in some areas, as much as 80% of a home’s heat. Since they are made of glass, they are semi-fragile when removed from their mounts, but once attached I have seen them withstand very extreme wind and even hail without breaking .
Usually found together in groups of ten, these evacuated tubes are positioned in a mount that, as shown in the picture here, can be affixed a few inches above a roof, or can be mounted directly touching it.
The heat created by your tubes can be used primarily in one of two ways to achieve the payoff mentioned earlier:
- Feeding the hot water produced back into a water heater. This significantly reduces the load on the heater, providing maximum efficiency and minimal load when the water heater is called on. This way, instead of heating incoming water from ground water temperature (usually around 48 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit), it might only have to take the incoming water from 100 degrees to 120, or perhaps not even heat it at all.
- The heated water/glycol mix can then be circulated into tubes incorporated in a radiant in-floor heating system. This heats the floor of a house using simple tubing placed just below the flooring material itself. The difference this can provide on a cold winter day is often times quite honestly amazing.
Coincidentally, this may be a good time to mention that a water heater blanket (available at most building supply contractor houses) can save a great deal of heat when wrapped around your heater. Head on over to newenergytips.com for more info on this.