Saturday, December 17, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Going Solar
We are going Solar. We live in the 'Sunshine State' and it just makes sense to use that sunshine to heat our water so here is how it works. We had a special 4' by 8' panel installed on the roof. The panel is filled with copper pipes that when full holds less than 1 gallon of distilled water. When the roof panel water gets hot, up to 200 degrees F, it trickles down to an extra tank. Water from the hot water heater is circulated through the extra tank through a copper coil. The hot water from the extra tank transfers it's heat to the colder water from the hot water heater. Then the distilled water goes back up to the solar panel to be heated up again. And so goes the process all sunny day long. The trick to make this work of course are sunny days; the system has one 220 electric backup element to heat water on the cloudy days.
The installer our our system has a family of four and he has not used electricity to heat water for the past two years and has never run out of hot water in that time period. He has had the system for 10 years.
The dark grey container above, contains 8 gallons of distilled water. This water is sent to the solar panel to be heated by the sun, about 7/10 of a gallon at a time and then is returned to the dark grey tank. Water from the hot water heater is sent through the dark grey tank to absorb the heat. The water is not mixed, just sent through in pipes from the hot water heater.
The cost for the system is $5,500.00 which includes a new hot water tank, 65 gallons, the solar panel, electronics to monitor the system and installation. When the system is installed, Florida Power and Light (our electric provider) sends us a check for $1,000.00, the city of North Port sends us a check for $750.00 and the IRS decreases our taxes for this year by 30% of the $5,500.00 or $1,833.33. All this adds up to $3,583.33 in direct rebates. The $1,917.67 we pay will be paid for in less than five years as we use nearly zero electricity (with the exception of two pumps to move the water) to heat our water over that time period.
Some thoughts; hail, cloudy days, hurricanes, shingle replacement, dirty panel on the system and a very hot solar panel on your roof are real some concerns about the system. The solutions are extra strong glass to withstand hail, the panel lies flat on the roof to compensate for strong winds, four bolts hold the panel down for easy removal, you may have to wash they panel once a year and the panel is heavily insulated to protect the roof from excess heat. Northern climates use antifreeze in place of distilled water. Finally, you do need a sun filled South exposure. Google 'Solar World' for more information.
The first report for our solar hot water heater is as follows. I turned the electric breaker off after the system was installed. The first two days after installation were partly cloudy and the third day was totally cloudy. The hot water in the new tank was at 99F after the second day; we took two showers in that time period with plenty of hot water. The fourth day was totally sunny and the water tank temp jumped up to 127F by late afternoon and the collector on the roof maxed at 147F. A typical hot water heater is set at 120F. This one is set at 140F.
First Report
The sensor that reads the hot water tank temp is located outside and on bottom of the tank between the insulation and the tank itself. As a result, I feel the actual hot water temp may be a degree or two low.
The installer our our system has a family of four and he has not used electricity to heat water for the past two years and has never run out of hot water in that time period. He has had the system for 10 years.
The dark grey container above, contains 8 gallons of distilled water. This water is sent to the solar panel to be heated by the sun, about 7/10 of a gallon at a time and then is returned to the dark grey tank. Water from the hot water heater is sent through the dark grey tank to absorb the heat. The water is not mixed, just sent through in pipes from the hot water heater.
The cost for the system is $5,500.00 which includes a new hot water tank, 65 gallons, the solar panel, electronics to monitor the system and installation. When the system is installed, Florida Power and Light (our electric provider) sends us a check for $1,000.00, the city of North Port sends us a check for $750.00 and the IRS decreases our taxes for this year by 30% of the $5,500.00 or $1,833.33. All this adds up to $3,583.33 in direct rebates. The $1,917.67 we pay will be paid for in less than five years as we use nearly zero electricity (with the exception of two pumps to move the water) to heat our water over that time period.
Some thoughts; hail, cloudy days, hurricanes, shingle replacement, dirty panel on the system and a very hot solar panel on your roof are real some concerns about the system. The solutions are extra strong glass to withstand hail, the panel lies flat on the roof to compensate for strong winds, four bolts hold the panel down for easy removal, you may have to wash they panel once a year and the panel is heavily insulated to protect the roof from excess heat. Northern climates use antifreeze in place of distilled water. Finally, you do need a sun filled South exposure. Google 'Solar World' for more information.
The first report for our solar hot water heater is as follows. I turned the electric breaker off after the system was installed. The first two days after installation were partly cloudy and the third day was totally cloudy. The hot water in the new tank was at 99F after the second day; we took two showers in that time period with plenty of hot water. The fourth day was totally sunny and the water tank temp jumped up to 127F by late afternoon and the collector on the roof maxed at 147F. A typical hot water heater is set at 120F. This one is set at 140F.
First Report
The sensor that reads the hot water tank temp is located outside and on bottom of the tank between the insulation and the tank itself. As a result, I feel the actual hot water temp may be a degree or two low.
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