Our Systems ~ Solar Thermal
Solar thermal technology, commonly referred to as solar hot water, has numerous applications. The most common application of this technology is for domestic hot water production. Solar thermal collectors heat hot water using radiant heat energy directly from the sun, which is then stored in a super-insulated storage tank for later use.
Solar hot water collectors, like photovoltaic panels need to face towards the south, but unlike photovoltaic panels can tolerate some shading. Locating the panels to optimize their solar orientation will maximize the efficiency of the system. Solar thermal systems can be designed to provide space heating in addition to domestic hot water. There are three categories of solar thermal system types that we focus on:
Simple Domestic Hot Water: A simple domestic hot water system is the most cost effective renewable energy technology and can tolerate some less than optimal siting conditions, such as shallow roof slopes. A typical simple domestic hot water system has two to three 4’ by 8’ collectors and utilizes food grade propylene glycol as a heat transfer fluid with a simple, easy to install pipe run, which transfers heat to your existing or a supplemental hot water storage tank. A system such as this can provide 40%-70% of an average households domestic water heating needs.
Domestic Hot Water Plus: This type of system typically consists of three to five 4’ by 8’ collectors coupled with a larger hot water storage tank. Although is the installation is more complex, it allows the benefit of deriving some extra heat from the system to provide some supplemental heating.
Heating Integrated: These systems are designed to utilize a larger array of thermal collectors along with a large thermal storage tank to provide a significant offset to the heating load of the home. If you are planning to use your solar thermal system to provide heat, does the south facing roof have a pitch of 10/12 to 12/12 to allow for optimal solar gain in the winter? What type of heat delivery system are you planning? If you are intending to use your thermal system to provide space heat, it is best to consider either forced hot air system or radiant floor heating.
When integrating any renewable energy technology it is always important to consider energy efficiency. How well is your structure insulated? The building envelope is a critical component of insuring the highest level of performance from your system. Make sure you have your insulation detail reviewed by a leader in the field, contact us for recommendations.
Whether it is new construction or existing construction, Clean Energy Design can perform a comprehensive
resource evaluation of your site, along with an evaluation of your energy use to provide you with the best
clean, renewable energy solution for your application.
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At Clean Energy Design we use only the best available technology, thereby giving our customers installations
that are productive, robust, and low maintenance.
