Residential Solar Solutions for
Hot Water
Our Solar Hot Water Projects - Kansas City Area
Why people love solar hot water:
In addition to increased independence from the utility company, the
savings garnered from this type of system, and the corresponding increase in home resale value, will usually pay the cost of installation back within 6-8 years.
Residents in cold winter climates like St. Louis and Kansas City especially love having ample, free hot water all the time.
What it is and what are the options:
Solar Domestic Hot Water (SDHW) uses energy from the sun
to offset the cost of the natural gas, propane, heating oil or conventional electricity normally used to heat your water.
The two most common types of systems for residential
systems are:
• Closed looped systems which use glycol running through
the system to transfer heat from the panels via a loop and heat exchanger to produce hot water in a tank. These are most commonly used in cold climates.
• Drain back systems circulate water from the hot water
tank to the collectors. The hot water is heated directly.
Solar water heaters are either active or passive systems. Active solar systems rely on moving mechanical parts in order to transport heat, while passive units simply use the sun to accomplish this action. The bulk of systems installed in the United States are active because they are considered to be more efficient and attractive.
A solar water heater uses the sun's energy as a source of heat to produce hot water for
household use. A solar water heater often generates from 50% to 80% of annual hot water heating needs. The remaining hot water needs can be supplied by either an electric or gas auxiliary water heater or boiler.
We recommend a roof integrated system such as Velux, which has low profile “roof integrated” solar panels for an esthetically pleasing look. The solar panels and flashing are all that are seen on the roof – no exposed pipes or mounting brackets on the roof.
How it works:
Closed-loop SDHW systems trap the sun’s energy inside an array of box-like collectors to heat a freeze-resistant, food-grade propylene glycol liquid in a series of copper tubes. A pump circulates the heated glycol from the collector to the water tank where it passes through a coil and transfers its heat to replenish the hot water supply.
SDHW works in tandem with your existing water heater. This means you get hot water from the solar system when the sun is shining, and never need to worry about not having hot water when it's not.
SDHW collectors are weather proof, heavily insulated and designed to absorb the maximum amount of available heat. A tempered solar glass cover allows solar radiation to enter but prevents approximately 95% of the heat from escaping. To transfer even more of the sun’s radiated energy to the heat transfer fluid, a specially treated copper absorber plate is placed next to the copper tubing. The liquid glycol in the copper tubing then circulates through a heat exchanger coil inside a well-insulated holding tank, not unlike the tank used in your conventional water heater.
The heated glycol transfers its heat to the water in the tank before returning to the collector where it’s heated again and the cycle repeats. Sunlight passes through the glass cover on the solar collector. Trapped inside the collector, the sun’s energy heats the food-grade glycol solution, which is isolated from the water supply inside a series of copper tubes.
A pump circulates the glycol solution through a heat exchanger inside the hot water tank.
The heated water is distributed throughout the building.
Additional considerations:
• With solar, there’s no rate increases ever: the energy provided by the sun is free!
• Investing in solar is a sound investment.
- The return on your money will only grow over time and your investment is virtually risk-free.
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Installing solar hot water increases the value of your property.
- An annual 5.5% - 6.5% Return on Investment (ROI) for 25 – 30 years.
• Government and local incentives make solar even more affordable.
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Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) of 30%, effective Jan. 1, 2009 reduces your costs by 30%.
- Local incentives can further reduce your net costs.
- Ask us how a particular system can save you money!
Contact a Solar Hot Water Expert for More Information or an Estimate
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