Solar water heating systems

Did you know that for regular household water heating costs are nearly one third of their fuel bills? It is possible to cut this amount significantly using solar energy for heating water.

rnSolar water heaters work on the principle of absorbing the energy in sunlight through solar panels and use it to heat the water. This hot water is then collected in a tank and used for your hot water needs. rnSolar water heating systems vary depending on the technology, their location of installation and means of circulating heat transfer fluid.

• Depending on the collector (panel) type they can be either flat-plate or evacuated tube collectors. Both systems have their own advantages and disadvantages. While flat-plate collectors are cheaper, evacuated tube collectors are more efficient. For this reason the choice would depend on your specific needs and budget. However, due to high efficiency of evacuated tube collectors the overall cost would be approximately the same.
• Collectors can be mounted on a roof and these are called on-roof systems. Sometimes it is possible to embed the collectors in the roof and these systems are called in-roof. Depending on space availability, some collectors are installed on the ground as standalone systems.
• Regardless of the collector type or location, heat absorbed from the sun is transferred to the water to be heated by means of a heat transfer fluid. If this fluid is circulated by pumps these systems are called active systems and if pumps are not used for fluid circulation those are passive systems.

Depending on the season you can save up to 70% of your water heating costs and 30% of your overall heating costs by solar water heaters.

It is possible to get hot water even in winter because solar water heating systems don’t need direct sunlight. They are able to convert even indirect sunlight to heat. So you will have the comfort of plenty of hot water for a very little cost even when the weather is overcast.

There are other advantages associated with solar water heating systems. They are:

• Reduced CO2 emissions
• Improved BER rating for your house, and increase in value of your house due to this

Quality is the most important point when choosing a solar water heater as they are intended for long-term use. What should be kept in mind while chosing a solar water heating system can be summarised as:

• It should be a system of recognised quality
• It should be a system designed by specialists so that your specific needs and conditions can be assesed in the best way
• Installation should be done by an expert installer with proper training and experience