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Warning
Before you engage an installer to carry out any solar heating work you should ask him for his current license card.
Home FYI Technical
Technical
Solar energy is an unpredictable and uncontrollable source of energy.
The solar energy volume varies a lot during pending on location, season and time of the day.

The effectiveness of the system is related to:
  1. The amount of hot water used and its temperature (low load, medium load or high load)
  2. The climate conditions
  3. The location: orientation; inclination; shading
The efficiency of a solar system is driven by the overall design of all its components:
tank; circulation system and collector panels; during the entire year.
Do not fall to claims of high efficiency of a single component during a specific event
e.g. “our panels will do best when ambient temperature is 2’C”

It is more important to consider robustness issues such as:
  1. How the system will cope with frost? What if there is a power cut during the frost?
  2. Will my system generate hot water without any power?
  3. Can I connect the system to other heat sources such as a wetback or gas?
  4. How the system will cope in mid-summer when no one at home for a week?
Main Types of Systems:
There is no such thing as an ideal system, and depending on the situation, the correct type should be implemented

Open Loop Systems (also known as direct system)
The potable water are circulated through the solar collectors and heat the water inside the tank directly

Closed Loop Systems (also known as heat exchange system)
The tank is heat exchange type and the heating fluid (typically polypropylene glycol) is heated up in the collectors and transfers the heat to the water inside the tank via the heat exchanger

Active System (pump circulation)
The heat collected in the solar panels is circulated to the tank using a pump. This is typically because the tank is mounted lower than the collector panels

Thermosiphon Systems (no pump)
The heat collected in the solar panels is transferred to the tank naturally. This is typically because the tank is mounted above the collector panels

Boost Control:
During periods of low solar energy, solar system can be boosted by:
Electricity (most common); gas; wetback or other fuels

It is mandatory to use an automated controller that complies with the bio safe requirements under G12

Full system – active indirect solar