solar panels hot water heating

solar panels hot water heating

Solar power is just one way to reduce your energy bills and do your bit for the environment. There are all sorts of devices that use some form of solar power as an energy source but the area where you will most benefit (as will the planet) is in the home. This article will discuss the various ways to make home made solar power.

So there are three ways to benefit from the Sun's energy. They are passively heating and cooling your home with solar energy, passively heating your water system with solar energy and actively creating electricity using Photovoltaic (PV) cells or solar panels.

Passively heating and cooling your home involves creating a sun trap in your home. You will often see these types of rooms, like a conservatory, set at the back of the house or south facing. This gives the room most time in Sun. A room like this will be made of glass to allow sun to enter the room. If there is good ventilation in the home, the heated air will move from a warmer location to a colder one. This will have the affect of heating a room or cooling one that is already warm. This idea can be applied to individual rooms or just one room connected to the rest of the home through good ventilation.

Solar water heating can be done passively or with PV cells. Passively is more popular and cost effective than PV cells and puts less demand on the solar panels that comprise of PV cells.

A passive solar water system uses a solar collector that joins to the home plumbing system. A solar collector can be a normal water tank with a few modifications to attract more sunlight or it can be a flat plate collector that increases the efficiency that heat can be transferred to water. A flat plate collector is like winding length of tube on a flat plate that is painted black. Water passes through the tube and getting heated in the process.

In many simple solar hot water systems there is no temperature control of the water. It is simply passed directly into the homes hot water system where it will still be heated by a conventional boiler. The benefit is that the water may already be warm, meaning that the boiler does not have to work as hard (expending electrical energy). More complicated systems will have a temperature control and depending on the climate or environmental temperature could be used without a boiler system provided there is a back up system when the Sun is not out.

Solar panels can provide electricity to the home. A solar panel converts photons to direct current. This can be stored in batteries or converted to alternating current with an inverter. This alternating current can be used in the home to power all the appliances that you need from the TV to the fridge to the bedside lamp.

There are many ways to install solar panels but the most effective and stress free way is to grid tie the panels. This effectively means your solar created electricity goes to the utility company and is deducted from the electricity that you use from them. In terms of the greater good, this also makes sense because they can then supply your electricity to other people (if you are away or don't need it) thus reducing the demands on fossil fuels.

Find out more about solar water heating and how solar hydronic heating can create hot water for the home at http://www.solarpowerappliances.com Adrian Whittle writes on issues related to solar power and energy efficiency.

Ergenics Hot Water Heat Engine Demonstration