Solar Thermal
Solar Hot water is created by using a solar flat panel water heater to heat up your water for domestic use. An investment in solar hot water heating for your home may be the best renewable energy investment you can make. Initial return on this investment is in the order of 15%, tax free, and goes up as gas and electricity prices climb.
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Arizona Solar Cener- Solar Hot Water: A Primer
Hot water represents the second largest energy consumer in American households. A typical 80 gallon (300 l) electric hot water tank serving a family of four will consume approximately 150 million BTUs in its seven year lifetime. This will cost approximately US$3,600 (at US$0.08 per KWH), not accounting for fuel cost increases. Then it will be replaced by another one just like it. Hmm. Maybe we should rethink this...
An investment in a solar water heating system will beat the stock market any day, any decade, risk free. Initial return on investment is on the order of 15 percent, tax-free, and goes up as gas and electricity prices climb. Many states have tax credits and other incentives to sweeten those numbers even more. What are we waiting for? Forget the stock market. If you have invested in a house, your next investment should be in solar hot water
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Solar Closets & Sunspaces
A "solar closet" is an insulated box filled with sealed containers of water, with a solar air heater attached to one insulated side. In a simplified solar space- and water-heating technique, a low-thermal-mass isolated sunspace heats a house on an average winter day, with an average amount of sun. A higher-temperature, compact, high-thermal-mass sauna behind the sunspace provides domestic hot water and space heat for the house during cloudy weather.
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Solar Develpments- Solar Domestic Hot Water Heating FAQ's
Solar water heating is a technology that every homeowner can use to save dollars on utility bills. Questions most frequently addressed to the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) about solar water heating are answered below. Please note that many replies are general and more explanation may be required for those with individual questions.
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Solar Hydronic Radiant Floor Heating
Hydronic, or radiant floor heating is a method of heating a home, shop, or other building with the heat concentrated in the floor. It works by embedding special tubing in a concrete foundation or in a thin concrete mixture on top of a wood-framed floor. Heated water (or a food-grade antifreeze mixture) flows through this tubing, warming the thermal mass of the concrete.
Conventional forced-air systems, wood stoves, or other heating methods produce uneven heat, with the highest air temperatures near the ceilings. Hydronic heating puts the heat in the floor under your feet, gently warming a room or a complete structure. This results in similar heating levels with superior comfort without wasting energy and money in monthly fuel bills. The warm water circulated through the tubing in a radiant floor may come from solar collectors, water heaters, demand water heaters, wood stoves, or heat pumps.
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