How Do Solar Water Heater Panels Work

Solar thermal panels use heat from the sun to warm fluid passing through them as the diagram below shows.

How do solar water heater panels work.

After a while it s not iced anymore. The solar energy collected is then used to heat the water in your home. Here s a simple summary of how rooftop solar hot water panels work. At its core a solar water heater does one thing.

In the simplest panels sun heats water flowing in a circuit through the collector the panel on your roof. Of course a home water heater has to work faster and bigger than that so the system has to be more complicated. The mats also called collectors are laid out in direct sunlight to absorb its heat. The most common type of solar pool heater is an array of polypropylene pp veined mats that are spanned between two feed pipes.

The same thing is happening when you leave a glass of iced tea in the sun. When the temperature is cold during winters radiator fluid technology is used in solar water heaters. An immersion heater unvented hot water cylinder might be needed as a back up heater or to get the water to the temperature you want. Instead these high efficiency appliances use dedicated solar collectors on your rooftop to draw power from the sun.

In this system a liquid catalyst or radiator fluid is warmed by sun s energy and it is pumped in the heat exchange tank. As water is pumped through the mat s veins heat is transferred from the pp mat to the water. The heated water travels to the domestic hot water tank and flows into and out of pipes on either side of the tank. It uses sunlight to warm water.

Solarcraft s solar pool heating systems work seamlessly with your pool equipment and are fully automated. People in the home are able to utilize hot water without it having an effect on the panel. The water leaving the collector is hotter than the water entering it and carries its heat toward your hot water tank. You set the desired water temperature on the solar control and when solar energy is available at the solar collectors an automatic motorized valve diverts the water through the solar collectors and carries the suns heat back to the pool.

How it works solar water heaters solar water heaters come in a wide variety of designs all including a collector and storage tank and all using the sun s thermal energy to heat water. Solar water heaters are typically described according to the type of collector and the circulation system. The mechanics of a solar pool heater are surprisingly simple. Chilly pool water travels through your existing pump then a new set of pipes and finally through the solar collectors installed on your roof garage or pool house whichever is nearest to your pool with a southern roofline.

This is then used to heat your water which is stored in a hot water cylinder.