Bill Lewis
03-03-2006, 2:06 PM
Recently I read an article on solat water heating, and have always thought that this might be a relatively easy and practical application of solar energy. I've been talking about it with my wife, and with the current energy tax credits and possible incentives I have been giving it more consideration.
Has anyone done this? I'm in a zone 6 climate so I was considering a drainback, closed loop system, but I've heard that the vacuum tube collectors don't have the problem with freezing so that may be an option too and I could possibly use a simpler open loop system instead.
I've got a ton of other questions to boot, but I'll keep it short.
Cost, what can one expect to pay for a system?
Has anyone done it DIY?
Mnufacturer's? Where do I look for components?
Reliability? which components to use?
Collector positioning. I've got one side of my garage roof that seems like an almost ideal place to put collectors, but it fases mostly WSW, Is this adequate, or would I need to position the collectors on a more southerly direction (they wouldn't be able to lie flat on the roof this way).
Lastly, my wife is also wanting me to consider photovoltaic options. I haven't even begun to think about these.
Has anyone done this? I'm in a zone 6 climate so I was considering a drainback, closed loop system, but I've heard that the vacuum tube collectors don't have the problem with freezing so that may be an option too and I could possibly use a simpler open loop system instead.
I've got a ton of other questions to boot, but I'll keep it short.
Cost, what can one expect to pay for a system?
Has anyone done it DIY?
Mnufacturer's? Where do I look for components?
Reliability? which components to use?
Collector positioning. I've got one side of my garage roof that seems like an almost ideal place to put collectors, but it fases mostly WSW, Is this adequate, or would I need to position the collectors on a more southerly direction (they wouldn't be able to lie flat on the roof this way).
Lastly, my wife is also wanting me to consider photovoltaic options. I haven't even begun to think about these.