Water Heaters - Solar Water Heater
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clockmaker
05-20-07, 12:43 PM
Is anyone here using solar to heat water for their house? I' looking into doing that to save on the electric bill, which is only going up. Any help would be appriciated.Thx gk
Lockwood16
05-23-07, 09:56 PM
We had solar fitted to our house from new. It works great in summer but needs to be boosted in winter on dull days. Ours is boosted by electricity and thinking about converting by using our wood heater. (Posted thread about this today)
Our collector is fitted onto the roof and separate from the tank which is in the ceiling space. Only for visual reasons. Now 5 years old. No problems yet.
Lockwood16
Our collector is fitted onto the roof and separate from the tank which is in the ceiling space. Only for visual reasons. Now 5 years old. No problems yet.
Lockwood16
Bingo757
05-24-07, 05:31 PM
My house has a system that was installed in the late '70's by a previous owner. It wasn't working when I moved in 10 years ago. I had it serviced by a local solar water company and it has been working flawlessly ever since. It is a heat exchanger system which uses about 5 gallons of antifreeze circulated by two small pumps up to 6 panels on the roof of my two-story house. The solar heated water is stored in a separate 60 gal tank that is between the city water supply and my 60 gal electric tank. Both tanks, the pumps and the heat exchanger loop are all in my garage.
In the summer the solar tank will reach 120+ degrees and “feeds” the electric tank which won’t even kick on unless we have 2-3 cloudy days in a row. Not quite as good in the winter but it does preheat the water going into the electric tank. I don’t know the exact power savings but I’m quite sure it is significant.
In the summer the solar tank will reach 120+ degrees and “feeds” the electric tank which won’t even kick on unless we have 2-3 cloudy days in a row. Not quite as good in the winter but it does preheat the water going into the electric tank. I don’t know the exact power savings but I’m quite sure it is significant.
BartMan07
06-11-07, 01:31 PM
I currently use a solar water heater to heat my grandmother's house. She's in her mid 80s and doesn't like cold water. The sun is a big source of heat for the Planet Earth. Because it is always beaming heat, the sun is a reliable source for heat for the planet. If you'd like to install a solar water heater, make sure not to get sun burnt! lol. But for realzies, I think you should get one, granny and the cats love theirs.
Bartman!
Bartman!
todd blanton
02-21-08, 01:00 PM
We had solar fitted to our house from new. It works great in summer but needs to be boosted in winter on dull days. Ours is boosted by electricity and thinking about converting by using our wood heater. (Posted thread about this today)
Our collector is fitted onto the roof and separate from the tank which is in the ceiling space. Only for visual reasons. Now 5 years old. No problems yet.
Lockwood16does any one have detailed plans for a solar hot water please e mail to no email links in forum.
Thanks
Todd:)
Our collector is fitted onto the roof and separate from the tank which is in the ceiling space. Only for visual reasons. Now 5 years old. No problems yet.
Lockwood16does any one have detailed plans for a solar hot water please e mail to no email links in forum.
Thanks
Todd:)