Components of solar hot water systems

Solar hot water systems are an energy efficient way to provide hot water for all your home’s needs. Fueled by the sun’s energy, these systems are also environmentally friendly, as they do not burn fossil fuels to heat water, as natural gas water heaters do. Different from the solar electric systems which produce electricity for your home’s devices, a solar thermal system collects the energy from the sun, absorbing the heat it produces to heat water. Solar water heater systems use solar collectors and storage tanks to provide hot water for your home.

There are three different types of solar heat panels for residential solar hot water systems. Flat-plate collectors are weatherproof, insulated boxes which contain the solar absorber. Integral collector storage systems, or batch systems, have one or multiple black tubes housed inside the insulated box. Evacuated-tube solar collectors have rows of transparent glass tubes, with a clear outer tube and a metal absorber. Each work in different ways to produce hot water for your home, and we can determine which type of collector is right for you.

A solar hot water heater system needs well-insulated tanks for storing the hot water it produces. Some systems may utilize one tank which connects to the collectors. In these systems, a backup water heater and solar hot water storage are housed in one tank. Some systems have two tanks. In these systems, the solar water heater preheats the water and moves it into a conventional water heater.

A solar hot water heater system may require a backup heating source to meet household demands or provide when the weather is gloomy. In some cases, a conventional water heater can be included in the solar hot water system package. Other systems may package this equipment with the solar heat panels, or include a tankless demand-type water heater to provide backup hot water.

Solar hot water systems allow you to reduce your dependency on conventional water heaters, lightening your home’s hot water heating load with energy absorbed by the sun’s rays. Cut back on energy bills caused by long showers, multiple laundry loads, even pool heating, by installing solar heat panels and implementing a solar hot water heater system.