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Components
A solar water heating system has three main components:
- Solar Panels
- Plumbing System
- Hot Water Cylinder
A solar water heater is composed of:
- A solar collector (flat plate or evacuated tube) which absorbs solar radiation (sunlight) and changes it into heat.
- A pump which transfers the heat from the collector to hot water in a storage tank.
- The storage tank accumulates the hot water produced by solar energy so that it can be stored for use when needed.
- A number of accessories which ensure the regulation and the safety of the system.
- A back-up heater (gas, oil, or wood fuelled boiler, immersion heater or heat pump) which will bring the hot water to the temperature required when there is not enough sunlight to do so (mostly in winter).
In Ireland, solar collectors alone cannot provide all the hot water for a household’s needs throughout the year. Correctly sized they will supply 60% of heat / domestic hot water needs. They are normally installed in conjunction with a conventional back-up heating system.
Solar Collectors Flat panel or vacuum tube
Flat plate collectors are an insulated box with a black metallic sheet at the back. Pipes containing a liquid (antifreeze), are placed in front of this sheet inside the box with glass on top of the plate and insulation underneath it. Sunlight passes through the glass, heating up the liquid which is plumbed back to a coil in your hot water cylinder.
Vacuum Tube
There are various types of vacuum tube, it is effectively a thermos flask made up of two layers of glass with a vacuum between the layers. The number required is determined by the amount of hot water required. Heat is transferred to the cylinder via a heat pipe.
Solar Twin Coil Cylinders
Solar cylinders differ from conventional cylinders in that they are normally larger and have two coils with two sensor pockets. The uppermost coil is used by your standard heating system as a backup for the solar heater, while the solar circuit uses the lower coil and heats the rest of the cylinder using the rising hot water in the cylinder.
