There are different types of solar water heating systems that are on the market that will work in a variety of different climates. If the climate is especially cold in the winter months, then there is really only one type of active solar water heating system that will work so that the water does not freeze, but the one that does work in that type of climate does a great job. Since hot water is used in so many different household tasks, such as washing dishes and clothes and taking showers, it can cause a burden on the energy that is needed for the home. Often water heaters are not well insulated so that the heater constantly has to work to supply all of the hot water that the home needs. Having a solar water heating system allows the sun to do the work to heat the water so that the electric or gas bill can go down and the other natural resources of the earth can be preserved.
How It Works
There are two main types of solar water heating systems, each of which utilize some sort of solar water heating panel that collects the sun's rays and converts them into heat for the water. In an active, closed loop solar water heating system, the flat plate collector works to collect the sun's rays. The antifreeze fluid runs in the collector loop only so that it does not contaminate the water supply. It is heated in the collector plate, then runs through the collector loop through the coils in the water collection tank to heat the water that is stored there, and then runs back out into the plate collector again for reheating. The tank also has a back up water heater in case there is not enough sunlight to fully heat the water supply. The hot water then runs from the storage container into the home for nice hot water in the washer, dishwasher or shower.
In a passive solar heating system, the method is a small different. In this case, the water comes from the cold water supply and runs into the batch collector unit that has the solar cells which warm the water. When the water is heated, it is going to the head of the batch collector and is pushed out and into the storage tank which has the backup water heater.
This system isn't customarily as good as the active systems, but a kind of passive system is what's generally used to heat swimming pools or other massive water supplies. Each solar heating system has to have a backup heating unit in the storage tank so that when there are a collection of cloudy days, the home can still have all of the hot water that's required.
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