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Preparing for Solar Hot Water
Filed Under DIY
Getting your new or existing home devlopment making its own solar hot water is a great task to try to accomplish.The savings you’ll get on your utility bill may shock you.
Let’s look at some ideas for sizing a new solar hot water system.
One of the things we often recommend to clients when considering a solar hot water system (or anyother renewable energy technology for that matter) is that they should thouroughly asses what kind of energy losses are currently present in their development first. The relevance of this stage of the game cannot be overlooked . There is a litter common sense to this , because how well a home is put together from the standpoint of its insulation effectiveness will decide how much of the solar hot water you generate will get lost between the window panes or under the door.
Yet another point of contention in your quest to contain the solar hot water heat you generate is that the colder your climate, the obviously harder your system will work to keep things warm. A house in North Dakota will not produce as much as one in Texas , but enough of that. (Hey, you’d be surprised how many folks this kind of easy logic slips by…more on that later).
Now for a discusion that is a little more scientific. There is a difference between heat energy and temperature. The reason we’re looking at this is because the size (in capacity) of the system you get will need to install always plays a balancing act between the demand of your home and the energy available in the environment in which it exists. Ever try to boil a cup of water with sunlight and a magnifying glass? It is completely within reach. The two factors just mentioned would be reflected in that simple system by 1) the size of the cup and 2) the sun available and ambient temperature of the air that day.
The terms used to describe a solar hot water storage system can be confusing. It all “boils down” to a technical term - specific heat, which is just the ability of a substance to store heat. More scientifically, it is the measure of heat you’ll need to lift the temperature of a certain quantity of some substance by an exact amount. The units used to express this measurement are either:
1) 1 BTU / lb / degree Fahrenheit
(notice the units: heat / weight / temperature) or:
2) 1 Calorie / gram / degree Celcius
Using the first measurement as an example, this means that for every pound of water in your solar hot water heating system, when it gets heated by 1 degree F, it now holds 1 BTU of thermal energy.
Take note of the change between tyring to elevate the temperature of a setup with 500 lbs of H20 vs 4,000 . It will require loads more BTUs (British Thermal Units) of heat energy to raise the temperature to the same reading in Fahrenheit . This begs another clear conclusion: the larger the system, the more heat energy that will be needed to lift the temperature.
The only one really qualified to asses a home properly for its energy efficiency is a heating contractor or home energy auditor. Keep looking for ways to save energy, and your solar hot water system will be up and running in no time.
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