ExampleofFlatPlateCollectors

SolarWaterHeating
Overview

Solarwaterheatingisthemostcosteffectiveandenvironmentally responsiblemethodtoheatwaterforresidential,commercial,and industrialneeds.

PhotocourtesyofEntechSolar,Inc. Solarwaterheatingfallsundertheumbrellatermofsolarthermal Source:EntechSolar,Inc. * technologies, alongwithsolarpoolheating,solarspaceheatingandcooling,andsolarindustrialprocesspreheating.[For more information, see SEIA fact sheet on solar thermal]. Simply put, a solar water heating system collects the thermal energyofthesunandusesittoheatwaterforusebyahomeorbusiness,ratherthanusingelectricityornaturalgas. Activesolarwaterheatingsystems 1 aregenerallycomposedofthree tofiveelements: acollector; insulatedheattransportpiping; heatstorage;andsometimes electroniccontrols;and incolderclimates,afreezeprotectionsystem. The solar collector gathers the heat from solar radiation and then transferstheheattopotablewater.Thisheatedwaterflowsoutof the collector to a water tank, and is used as necessary. A conventional water heater (using electricity, natural gas, oil, or propane)canprovideadditionalheatingifnecessary. Inacolderclimatewhere temperaturescandropto32Forbelow, anindirectsystemisused.(Seediagramtotheright).Anantifreeze solution, such as nontoxic propylene glycol, is heated in the solar collector and circulated from the solar collector through a heat Note:Therearemanyconfigurationsofthisidea, exchanger connected to a storage tank. The potable water in the includingsystemswithsinglewallheatexchangers. storagetank iswarmedbythehot,antifreezefilledheatexchanger, Thediagramshowsanactive,indirectsolar andtheheatedwatercanthenbeusedasnecessary,whilethe waterheatingsystem.Source:DOE cooledglycolispipedbacktothesolarcollectortobeheatedagain. Anothercommontypeofsolarwaterheatingsystemdesignforcoldclimatesiscalleddrainback.Thistypeofsolarenergy systemtypicallyusesregularwaterasaheattransferfluid,andisdesignedtoallowallofthewaterinthesolarcollectorto drainbacktoaholdingtankinaheatedportionofthebuildingitisusedon.Whennosunlightisavailableforheating,the solarpumpturnsoffandthewaterflowsintothedrainbacktankbymeansofgravity. Nomatterwhichtypeofsolarenergysystemyoursolarprofessionalrecommendsforyou,aproperlydesignedandinstalled solarwaterheatingsystemcanbeexpectedtoprovideasignificantpercentage(4080%)ofabuildingshotwaterneeds.

Thisshouldntbeconfusedwithconcentratingsolarpowertechnologiesthatareoftenreferredtoassolarthermalelectric.

1 SEIA|www.seia.org

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TypicalEvacuatedTubeWaterSystemSundaSeido2 CollectorsShown

SolarWaterHeatingCollectors
Solar water heating collectors produce heat, and are different from photovoltaic (PV) modules, which produce electricity. There are severaltypesofcollectors:flatplate,evacuatedtube,IntegralCollector Storage (ICS), Thermosiphon, and Concentrating. Flat plate collectors are the most common type of collector in the US; typically copper pipes create a matrix of risers, or are affixed to an absorber plate contained in an insulated box covered with a tempered glass or PhotocourtesyofSEIA. polymercoverplate.2 Evacuatedtubecollectorsconsistofrowsofparallel,transparentglasstubes.Eachtubeenclosesan absorber assembly, and the entire tube is evacuated of air, leaving a vacuum; this vacuum acts as a highly efficient insulator, since air is required to transmit heat from the absorber to the glass. A fluid transfers the heat from the solar collectortoastoragetank,whereitisdistributedforwaterorspaceheatingpurposes 3 . While both solar water heating systems and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems often involve roof collector panels, they are very different technologies. Solar water heating systems use radiation from the sun to generate heat for water, whereas solarelectricsystemsusesolarradiationtodirectlygenerateelectricity. 4

SolarWaterHeatingSystems
CanworkinanyregionoftheUnitedStates.Thesolarradiationforthecontiguous48statesandHawaiiisequaltoorbetterthan thatofSpain,wherenumeroussolarwaterheatershavebeeninstalled.AlaskahasasimilarsolarradiationtothatofGermany,one oftheworldleadersinsolarwaterheatinginstallations. ArecommonlyusedinChina,where1in10householdshasasolarwaterheatingsystem. 5 Lastanywherebetween1540years,dependingonthemaintenancegivenandtheclimateconditions. Canbeinstalledinaslittleas2days. Rangeinpricefrom$2,000$8,000dependingonthesizeoftheresidentialsystemandtheinstallationneeds.Thepaybackperiod canberealizedinaslittleas36years.Largersystemsforcommercialorindustrialpurposeshaveaslightlylongerpayback. CancreatethousandsofjobsthroughouttheU.S. AretestedandcertifiedbytheSolarRatingandCertificationCorporationtobereliableandeffective. Arearapidlygrowingsector.Inspiteofaneconomicdownturn,solarwaterheatingcapacityincreased40percentin2008inthe ** 6 U.S.,toanestimated485MWth. About20,500solarwaterheatingsystemswereinstalledintheU.S.in2008alone. 7 Areproventoincreasethevalueofahomeandarethereforeaworthwhileinvestment. Cancreatevastamountsofcleanenergy.Asolarwaterheatingsystemcosteffectivelysizedfortheclimatewhereitisinstalledwill generatearemarkablyconsistent2,800to3,200kWh(9.5to11millionBtu)ofenergyperyear. 8 Cansignificantlycontributetoemissions reductions.Foratypicalresidentialsolarhotwatersystemdisplacingnaturalgas,about 1,290lbsofCO2canbeavoidedannually.Ifthesystemdisplaceselectricity,theamountofemissionsavoidedisequaltoremovinga smallcarofftheroad. 9

AbouttheSolarEnergyIndustriesAssociation
Established in 1974, SEIA is the national trade association of the solar energy industry. As the voice of the industry, SEIA works to make solar a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengtheningtheindustryandeducatingthepubliconthebenefitsofsolarenergy. Forafootnotedversionofthisfactsheetandmoreinformation,pleasevisitwww.seia.org.
**

MWthormegawattsthermalisaunitusedtocomparesolarthermalcollectorcapacitytoelectriccapacitybymultiplyingtheabsorbersurfaceareaofthesolarthermal collectorby0.7kilowatts/squaremeter.

2 SEIA|www.seia.org

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Solar water heating systems can be either active (relying on electric pumps to circulate water) or passive (relying on gravity and the property of water to rise when heated).Themostcommontypeofsystemforuseincommercialandresidentialbuildingsisanactivesystem. 2 Efficienciesrangebetween3060%forflatplatecollectors. 3 Analuminumnitridecoatingonborosilicateglassgivesa92%efficiencyratingoftransformingsolarradiationintoheat. 4 Regarding energy metrics: The energy from solar water heating technologies is generally measured in British Thermal Units (BTU), which can be converted to kWh throughanindustryacceptedconversionfactor. 5 http://www.martinot.info/china.htm 6 SolarIndustryYearinReview2008,SEIA. 7 Ramlow,Bob.SolarWaterHeating:AComprehensiveGuidetoSolarWaterandSpaceheatingsystems.Canada:NewSocietyPublishing,2006. 8 Wilson, Alex. "Is Solar Still Active? Water Heating and Other Solar Thermal Applications."Environmental Building News.Building Green, LLc. 1 July 1999. <http://www.buildinggreen.com.proxyum.researchport.umd.edu/auth/article.cfm/1999/7/1/IsSolarStillActiveWaterHeatingandOtherSolarThermalApplications/>. 9 Wilson, Alex. "Is Solar Still Active? Water Heating and Other Solar Thermal Applications."Environmental Building News.Building Green, LLc. 1 July 1999. <http://www.buildinggreen.com.proxyum.researchport.umd.edu/auth/article.cfm/1999/7/1/IsSolarStillActiveWaterHeatingandOtherSolarThermalApplications/>.
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3 SEIA|www.seia.org

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