Conventional storage water heaters usually provide backup and may already be part of the solar system package.
Solar water systems.
Solar water heating systems or solar thermal systems use free heat from the sun to warm domestic hot water.
Solar water heating systems almost always require a backup system for cloudy days and times of increased demand.
A backup system may also be part of the solar collector such as rooftop tanks with thermosyphon systems.
Solar water heating swh is the conversion of sunlight into heat for water heating using a solar thermal collector a variety of configurations is available at varying cost to provide solutions in different climates and latitudes.
The tank stores the solar heated water and serves as a backup heat source.
How to select the right solar water heater.
The benefits of solar water heating.
Indirect systems water is heated directly into solar collectors and circulating in your home it is best suited for cold or freezing conditions where the absence of heat exchangers means that cold cold water cannot be heated effectively.
Solar hot water systems are designed to tie in to conventional electric and gas water heaters.
Direct systems work best in areas that don t often see temperatures below freezing.
This is because the solar storage tank and the main water heater tank are part of the same pressurized domestic hot water system.
The hot out from the solar storage tank goes to the cold in of the main water heater remember the main water heater acts as your back up system during times of little or no solar gain.
Each type of solar water heating system works best in different environments.
Smaller passive solar water heater systems could cost around 3 000 while a larger active system could run you more than 10 000.
Hot water throughout the year.
Even if the water from the collector isn t shower hot you ll still save money since your tank will have had a head start heating the water.
Swhs are widely used for residential and some industrial applications.