Question:

I have recently purchased  passive solar water heater system a home that has a Solaron 7000 solar hot water heating system. passive solar water heater system Ten years ago the house was added on to and the new room (20 x 40 = 800 sq ft) has electric heat while the rest of passive solar water heater system the house id forced air.  The furnace isn’t large enough to heat the new room alone so I wondered what it would take to use part of the solar to heat air and then use a fan to blow the air from the solar panels on top of the garage through the attic and out through vents into the added room.  Any ideas?   

I have recently purchased a home that has a Solaron 7000 solar hot water heating system.  Ten years ago the house was added on to and the new room (20 x 40 = 800 sq ft) has electric heat while the rest of the house id forced air.  passive solar water heater system The furnace isn’t large enough to heat the new room alone so I wondered what it would take to use part of the solar to heat air and then use a fan to blow the air from the solar panels on top of the garage through the attic and out through vents into the added room.  Any ideas? passive solar water heater system

Of course, if you use your solar water heater energy for your “new” room, the energy won’t be available for heating your hot water to the same level. You need to find out the heat load on the room, such as insulation R-value in the walls, floor, ceiling, windows.  Next, take the product of each the R-Values and multiply it by the square footage of each insulation type (wall, ceiling, floor, windows).  Subtract a fudge factor of around 10% for thermal bridging and other insulation losses. Add all of the insulation products together. Next, infiltration WAG.  If the room is tight, multiply the result by 15%; if the room is “normal”, multiply the result by 25% instead. I’ll assume it is not drafty.passive solar water heater system  If I’ve done everything right so far, the result will be in BTUs/hr/degree F. Next, find the heating degree days for your area. http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/solrad/ If you are heating the room all the time, then multiply the heating degree days by 24. Not take the result you first came up with and multiply by the last result you came up with. Big number, right?!  Don’t worry, that is the number of BTUs you need for the entire heating season. Don’t use the room all the time?  If you heat it only 10% of the time, then reduce the number by 90%.  (other factors can come into play, but this is a rough calculation. You will need some idea of how many BTUs your hot water heater will generate in a season.  Note that the coldest days of the year will require more BTUs, and it is likely your solar hot water heater will be running at a lower output. Now for your question; You could run an insulated loop from your hot water tank to a heat exchanger fan box in this room.  The length of the run, the R-value of the insulation, and the temp of the water will determine the losses, along with the energy to run the pump.  The area of the pipe can be calculated by length * pi *diameter (use the same units, i.e., feet). Has this helped or did I leave out something important? Cheers,

Response:

I have another solution that you may wish to consider.  However, it requires a ceiling space, and under floor space of the dwelling.  It also assumes you have sun that heats the roof, which intern heats the ceiling space, and you may have insulation that stops the hotter air transfering into the rest of the house, particularly in the summer.  The under floor space ought to have some high thermal mass, eg brick walls around the house (foundations etc). Pump the warmed air in the ceiling space into the floor space.  You can use convention 100mm (4in) plastic pipe and fittings, probably a competer type fan top and bottom to assist in the air movement.  The idea is to warm the floor space, hjot air rises and so warms the dwelling above, reduced need for other heating, and inexpensive to install.  The reduce the running costs of the fans, consider solar panels.  To get really cute, consider sensors to check input and output temperatures, and the room temperature, so that you only heat when there is heat, and the house is cold! Good luck!passive solar water heater system  I have recently purchased a home that has a Solaron 7000 solar hot water heating system.  Ten years ago the house was added on to and the new room (20 x 40 = 800 sq ft) has electric heat while the rest of the house id forced air.  The furnace isn’t large enough to heat the new room alone so I wondered what it would take to use part of the solar to heat air and then use a fan to blow the air from the solar panels on top of the garage through the attic and out through vents into the added room.  Any ideas? Thanks,

Response:

Question:

I have had to take the water tank from the solar water heater system for a while, leaving the panels drained.  Will this hurt anything, such as allowing overheating?solar water heater system in india  Would appreciate any help.

Response:

Cover the empty collectors to avoid direct sunlight. Damage could occur to seals and to surounding materials.solar water heater system in india   I have had to take the water tank from the solar water heater system for a while, leaving the panels drained.  Will this hurt anything, such as allowing overheating?solar water heater system in india  Would appreciate any help.

Response:

No it won’t hurt it. just be sure the tank is cleaned out while it is drained so nothing gets in that will impair the system when it comes back on-line. — Michael Eckhard Project Leader – Solar & Hydronic Systems Six Rivers Solar,solar water heater system in india

Response:

Cover the empty collectors to avoid direct sunlight. Damage could occur to seals and to surounding materials. Peter I have had to take the water tank from the solar water heater system for a while,solar water heater system in india  leaving the panels drained.  Will this hurt anything, such as allowing overheating?  Would appreciate any help.

If you cannot throw a tarp over them, at least crack open a valve to let the hot air out solar water heater system in india

Response:

No it won’t hurt it. just be sure the tank is cleaned out while it is drained so nothing gets in that will impair the system when it comes back on-line.solar water heater system in india

Response:

Cover the empty collectors to avoid direct sunlight. Damage could occur to seals and to surounding materials. Peter I have had to take the water tank from the solar water heater system for a while,solar water heater system in india  leaving the panels drained.  Will this hurt anything, such as allowing overheating?  Would appreciate any help.

If you cannot throw a tarp over them, at least crack open a valve to let the hot air out solar water heater system in india

Response:

I have had to take the water tank from the solar water heater system for a while,solar water heater system in india  leaving the panels drained.  Will this hurt anything, such as allowing overheating?  Would appreciate any help.

Response:

Cover the empty collectors to avoid direct sunlight. Damage could occur to seals and to surounding materials. Psolar water heater system in india  I have had to take the water tank from the solar water heater system for a while, leaving the panels drained.  Will this hurt anything, such as allowing overheating?solar water heater system in india  Would appreciate any help.

Response:

Question:

Copper piping and solar water heater with tankless system chlorine are a recipe for disaster.  Good luck and watch your plaster, the green color may not be pleasing.  Let us know on the long term performance Most solar systems I have seen for pools are plastic or forms of plastic. solar water heater with tankless system

solar water heater with tankless system Stephen After consideration of your diagram and other options, I chose to use the circulating pump from the solar water heater system and completely bypass the pool plumbing. Using a timer, I can get full output of the colector during the time I want, or in this case whenever the sun is up. I positioned the collector to catch sun all day in the spring, winter and fall, but it will get much less to no sun during the summer.. I used copper all the way down to the pool side, and put 2 hose nipples on the ends. Now when I want the heater to work I toss the hoses in the poole, and it seems like it works fine.  I need to give it a couple weeks trial, but I am off and running as soon as the sun starts shining in Phx. Thanks for your input!, Hi Joe: The attached picture may help a bit. What we recommend is that you use copper pipe to match your solar collectors output port size (probably 3/4″) everywhere on the roof. Then from there you can run your standard pool plastic pipe back to the pool solar water heater with tankless systemThe roof area should stay copper as these types of solar collectors can get extremely hot if they are not operated and the sun is out full force. These temperatures will melt your regular pool piping. You can also run copper pipe all the way, if that is easier for you. You may want to use a manual diverter valve to start with and turn it only part-way so that only a portion of the flow is diverted through the collectors. If you put the entire flow through the collectors, your net output to the pool will be a lot slower. The diagram shows the solar collector return line connecting with your pool’s regular return line. Since you have a bottom drain, that is actually a much better location for it. The hotter water will mix with the coldest water in your pool, helping to reduce the temperature gradient from top to bottom. Hope this helps. — Regards, Stephen Cumminger, P.Eng, MBA, MCPM Senior Consultant Sonideft Solar Tel: 902-865-2189 Fax: 902-484-7897 www.heatwithsolar.com Stephen Good information, can you give me any support information on the plumbing side of my problem? I have an In floor cleaning system, so I think tapping into the return line is the way to go for the heated water back TO the pool. Not sure about the cool water TO the collector??? Check valves? Where? and what size plumbing to the collector. Pool manifold is about 1.75 inches. Run will be about 50 feet each way with 10′ up to the roof. Input appreciated We sell our copper-based flat-plate glazed (with glass) Solar Collectors for pool applications here in Canada. The only thing that you really need to do is to monitor your pool’s chlorine level and keep it in check and you should be able to get 10 years out of them. The chlorine test kits from pool retail outlets work just fine. We sell both the unglazed Pool Collectors (soon) and the glazed Solar Collectors. In cooler climates, the glazed collectors, although more expensive, are necessary in order to extend the pool season. Any comments ? This newsgroup hasn’t been that active lately, so I thought I would stir things up a little. — Regards, Stephen Cumminger, P.Eng, MBA, MCPM Senior Consultant Sonideft Solar Tel: 902-865-2189 Fax: 902-484-7897 www.heatwithsolar.com The collector is made of Copper so I don’t see any probelms in the short term. If the collector works for a couple years, solar water heater with tankless system I will know if I would like to put another one on. Any other helpful  comments about the connections woud be appreciated. I just got a free solar collector which was used for a hot water heater. It was not wanted anymore so all I had to do was take it down and haul it away. I want to use it for my swimming pool. Questions: 1, The collector is a 4′x10′ pacific west solar panel. Glass and metal collector. The water was scalding hot when it was in use, so I think it will help with my pool which is almost totally shaded from October thru March. Living in the Phx AZ area The pool is plenty warm from April to Sept, but I want to extend that usse time. 2. Any ideas to help me with the plumbing into the system? I have the circulating pump and controller from the heater and think I would like to plumb the line into the pool using that pump. I may need to use a different controller, but would like opinions. My pool has an in-floor cleaning system, so I think I need to plumb the solar heated water into the system usnig the return line which by passes the cleaning system? Right? What about line size from the collector to the pool?  The collector has about 3/4 inch copper but the pool return is about 1.5″ pvc. What else do I need? Check valves? Any helpful insight will be appreciated. Most pool collectors are plastic, because of the pool water. If your going to use a domestic h2o panel you, in my opinion should put in an heat exhanger so that the pool water does not eat the collector. solar water heater with tankless system

Response:

Stephen After consideration of your diagram and other options, I chose to use the circulating pump from the solar water heater system and completely bypass the pool plumbing. Using a timer, I can get full output of the colector during the time I want, or in this case whenever the sun is up. I positioned the collector to catch sun all day in the spring, winter and fall, but it will get much less to no sun during the summer.. I used copper all the way down to the pool side, and put 2 hose nipples on the ends. Now when I want the heater to work I toss the hoses in the poole, and it seems like it works fine.  I need to give it a couple weeks trial, but I am off and running as soon as the sun starts shining in Phx. Thanks for your input!,

solar water heater with tankless systemThe attached picture may help a bit. What we recommend is that you use copper pipe to match your solar collectors output port size (probably 3/4″) everywhere on the roof. Then from there you can run your standard pool plastic pipe back to the pool. The roof area should stay copper as these types of solar collectors can get extremely hot if they are not operated and the sun is out full force. These temperatures will melt your regular pool piping. You can also run copper pipe all the way, if that is easier for you. You may want to use a manual diverter valve to start with and turn it only part-way so that only a portion of the flow is diverted through the collectors. If you put the entire flow through the collectors, your net output to the pool will be a lot slower. The diagram shows the solar collector return line connecting with your pool’s regular return line. Since you have a bottom drain, that is actually a much better location for it. The hotter water will mix with the coldest water in your pool, helping to reduce the temperature gradient from top to bottom. Hope this helps. — Regards, Stephen Cumminger, P.Eng, MBA, MCPM Senior Consultant Sonideft Solar Tel: 902-865-2189 Fax: 902-484-7897 www.heatwithsolar.com Stephen Good information, can you give me any support information on the plumbing side of my problem? I have an In floor cleaning system, so I think tapping into the return line is the way to go for the heated water back TO the pool. Not sure about the cool water TO the collector??? Check valves? Where? and what size plumbing to the collector. Pool manifold is about 1.75 inches. Run will be about 50 feet each way with 10′ up to the roof. Input appreciated We sell our copper-based flat-plate glazed (with glass) Solar Collectors for pool applications here in Canada. The only thing that you really need to do is to monitor your pool’s chlorine level and keep it in check and you should be able to get 10 years out of them. The chlorine test kits from pool retail outlets work just fine. We sell both the unglazed Pool Collectors (soon) and the glazed Solar Collectors. In cooler climates, the glazed collectors, although more expensive, are necessary in order to extend the pool season. Any comments ? This newsgroup hasn’t been that active lately, so I thought I would stir things up a little. — Regards, Stephen Cumminger, P.Eng, MBA, MCPM Senior Consultant Sonideft Solar Tel: 902-865-2189 Fax: 902-484-7897 www.heatwithsolar.com The collector is made of Copper so I don’t see any probelms in the short term. If the collector works for a couple years, I will know if I would like to put another one on. Any other helpful  comments about the connections woud be appreciated. I just got a free solar collector which was used for a hot water heater. It was not wanted anymore so all I had to do was take it down and haul it away. I want to use it for my swimming pool. Questions: 1, The collector is a 4′x10′ pacific west solar panel. Glass and metal collector. The water was scalding hot when it was in use, so I think it will help with my pool which is almost totally shaded from October thru March. Living in the Phx AZ area The pool is plenty warm from April to Sept, but I want to extend that usse time. 2. Any ideas to help me with the plumbing into the system? I have the circulating pump and controller from the heater and think I would like to plumb the line into the pool using that pump. I may need to use a different controller, but would like opinions. My pool has an in-floor cleaning system, so I think I need to plumb the solar heated water into the system usnig the return line which by passes the cleaning system? Right? What about line size from the collector to the pool?  The collector has about 3/4 inch copper but the pool return is about 1.5″ pvc. What else do I need? Check valves? Any helpful insight will be appreciated. Most pool collectors are plastic, because of the pool water. If your going to use a domestic h2o panel you, in my opinion should put in an heat exhanger so that the pool water does not eat the collector. solar water heater with tankless system

Response:

Stephen Good information, can you give me any support information on the plumbing side of my problem? I have an In floor cleaning system, so I think tapping into the return line is the way to go for the heated water back TO the pool. Not sure about the cool water TO the collector??? Check valves? Where? and what size plumbing to the collector. Pool manifold is about 1.75 inches. Run will be about 50 feet each way with 10′ up to the roof. Input appreciated

solar water heater with tankless system We sell our copper-based flat-plate glazed (with glass) Solar Collectors for pool applications here in Canada. The only thing that you really need to do is to monitor your pool’s chlorine level and keep it in check and you should be able to get 10 years out of them. The chlorine test kits from pool retail outlets work just fine. We sell both the unglazed Pool Collectors (soon) and the glazed Solar Collectors. In cooler climates, the glazed collectors, although more expensive, are necessary in order to extend the pool season. Any comments ? This newsgroup hasn’t been that active lately, so I thought I would stir things up a little. — Regards, Stephen Cumminger, P.Eng, MBA, MCPM Senior Consultant Sonideft Solar Tel: 902-865-2189 Fax: 902-484-7897 www.heatwithsolar.com The collector is made of Copper so I don’t see any probelms in the short term. If the collector works for a couple years, I will know if I would like to put another one on. Any other helpful  comments about the connections woud be appreciated. I just got a free solar collector which was used for a hot water heater. It was not wanted anymore so all I had to do was take it down and haul it away. I want to use it for my swimming pool. Questions: 1, The collector is a 4′x10′ pacific west solar panel. Glass and metal collector. The water was scalding hot when it was in use, so I think it will help with my pool which is almost totally shaded from October thru March. Living in the Phx AZ area The pool is plenty warm from April to Sept, but I want to extend that usse time. 2. Any ideas to help me with the plumbing into the system? I have the circulating pump and controller from the heater and think I would like to plumb the line into the pool using that pump. I may need to use a different controller, but would like opinions. My pool has an in-floor cleaning system, so I think I need to plumb the solar heated water into the system usnig the return line which by passes the cleaning system? Right? What about line size from the collector to the pool?  The collector has about 3/4 inch copper but the pool return is about 1.5″ pvc. What else do I need? Check valves? Any helpful insight will be appreciated. Most pool collectors are plastic, because of the pool water. If your going to use a domestic h2o panel you, in my opinion should put in an heat exhanger so that the pool water does not eat the collector.

Response:

We are distrubutors for a products called Heliocol Solar. It is a UV stabilized polypropylene which is guaranteed for 25 years. Why would you waste time with substitutes when you can have the best in the world? Our company is called Premium Pool Products and we are in Australia but our parent company is in Florida USA. solar water heater with tankless system

solar water heater with tankless systemWe sell our copper-based flat-plate glazed (with glass) Solar Collectors for pool applications here in Canada. The only thing that you really need to do is to monitor your pool’s chlorine level and keep it in check and you should be able to get 10 years out of them. The chlorine test kits from pool retail outlets work just fine. We sell both the unglazed Pool Collectors (soon) and the glazed Solar Collectors. In cooler climates, the glazed collectors, although more expensive, are necessary in order to extend the pool season. Any comments ? This newsgroup hasn’t been that active lately, so I thought I would stir things up a little. — Regards, Stephen Cumminger, P.Eng, MBA, MCPM Senior Consultant Sonideft Solar Tel: 902-865-2189 Fax: 902-484-7897 www.heatwithsolar.com The collector is made of Copper so I don’t see any probelms in the short term. If the collector works for a couple years, I will know if I would like to put another one on. Any other helpful  comments about the connections woud be appreciated. I just got a free solar collector which was used for a hot water heater. It was not wanted anymore so all I had to do was take it down and haul it away. I want to use it for my swimming pool. Questions: 1, The collector is a 4′x10′ pacific west solar panel. Glass and metal collector. The water was scalding hot when it was in use, so I think it will help with my pool which is almost totally shaded from October thru March. Living in the Phx AZ area The pool is plenty warm from April to Sept, but I want to extend that usse time. 2. Any ideas to help me with the plumbing into the system? I have the circulating pump and controller from the heater and think I would like to plumb the line into the pool using that pump. I may need to use a different controller, but would like opinions. My pool has an in-floor cleaning system, so I think I need to plumb the solar heated water into the system usnig the return line which by passes the cleaning system? Right? What about line size from the collector to the pool?  The collector has about 3/4 inch copper but the pool return is about 1.5″ pvc. What else do I need? Check valves? Any helpful insight will be appreciated. Most pool collectors are plastic, because of the pool water. If your going to use a domestic h2o panel you, in my opinion should put in an heat exhanger so that the pool water does not eat the collector.

Response:

We sell our copper-based flat-plate glazed (with glass) Solar Collectors for pool applications here in Canada. The only thing that you really need to do is to monitor your pool’s chlorine level and keep it in check and you should be able to get 10 years out of them. The chlorine test kits from pool retail outlets work just fine. We sell both the unglazed Pool Collectors (soon) and the glazed Solar Collectors. In cooler climates, the glazed collectors, although more expensive, are necessary in order to extend the pool season. Any comments ? This newsgroup hasn’t been that active lately, so I thought I would stir things up a little.solar water heater with tankless system

solar water heater with tankless systemThe collector is made of Copper so I don’t see any probelms in the short term. If the collector works for a couple years, I will know if I would like to put another one on. Any other helpful  comments about the connections woud be appreciated. I just got a free solar collector which was used for a hot water heater. It was not wanted anymore so all I had to do was take it down and haul it away. I want to use it for my swimming pool. Questions: 1, The collector is a 4′x10′ pacific west solar panel. Glass and metal collector. The water was scalding hot when it was in use, so I think it will help with my pool which is almost totally shaded from October thru March. Living in the Phx AZ area The pool is plenty warm from April to Sept, but I want to extend that usse time. 2. Any ideas to help me with the plumbing into the system? I have the circulating pump and controller from the heater and think I would like to plumb the line into the pool using that pump. I may need to use a different controller, but would like opinions. My pool has an in-floor cleaning system, so I think I need to plumb the solar heated water into the system usnig the return line which by passes the cleaning system? Right? What about line size from the collector to the pool?  The collector has about 3/4 inch copper but the pool return is about 1.5″ pvc. What else do I need? Check valves? Any helpful insight will be appreciated. Most pool collectors are plastic, because of the pool water. If your going to use a domestic h2o panel you, in my opinion should put in an heat exhanger so that the pool water does not eat the collector.

Response:

Most pool collectors are plastic, because of the pool water. If your going to use a domestic h2o panel you, in my opinion should put in an heat exhanger so that the pool water does not eat the collector.

The collector is made of Copper so I don’t see any probelms in the short term.

Then you have exactly no grasp of what pool water does to copper. Pity to destroy a collector, but I guess that is what it will take to convince you. — Cats, Coffee, Chocolate…vices to live by

Response:

The collector is made of Copper so I don’t see any probelms in the short term. If the collector works for a couple years, I will know if I would like to put another one on. Any other helpful  comments about the connections woud be appreciated.

solar water heater with tankless systemI just got a free solar collector which was used for a hot water heater. It was not wanted anymore so all I had to do was take it down and haul it away. I want to use it for my swimming pool. Questions: 1, The collector is a 4′x10′ pacific west solar panel. Glass and metal collector. The water was scalding hot when it was in use, so I think it will help with my pool which is almost totally shaded from October thru March. Living in the Phx AZ area The pool is plenty warm from April to Sept, but I want to extend that usse time. 2. Any ideas to help me with the plumbing into the system? I have the circulating pump and controller from the heater and think I would like to plumb the line into the pool using that pump. I may need to use a different controller, but would like opinions. My pool has an in-floor cleaning system, so I think I need to plumb the solar heated water into the system usnig the return line which by passes the cleaning system? Right? What about line size from the collector to the pool?  The collector has about 3/4 inch copper but the pool return is about 1.5″ pvc. What else do I need? Check valves? Any helpful insight will be appreciated. Most pool collectors are plastic, because of the pool water. If your going to use a domestic h2o panel you, in my opinion should put in an heat exhanger so that the pool water does not eat the collector.

Response:

I just got a free solar collector which was used for a hot water heater. It was not wanted anymore so all I had to do was take it down and haul it away. I want to use it for my swimming pool. Questions: 1, The collector is a 4′x10′ pacific west solar panel. Glass and metal collector. The water was scalding hot when it was in use, so I think it will help with my pool which is almost totally shaded from October thru March. Living in the Phx AZ area The pool is plenty warm from April to Sept, but I want to extend that usse time. 2. Any ideas to help me with the plumbing into the system? I have the circulating pump and controller from the heater and think I would like to plumb the line into the pool using that pump. I may need to use a different controller, but would like opinions. My pool has an in-floor cleaning system, so I think I need to plumb the solar heated water into the system usnig the return line which by passes the cleaning system? Right? What about line size from the collector to the pool?  The collector has about 3/4 inch copper but the pool return is about 1.5″ pvc. What else do I need? Check valves? Any helpful insight will be appreciated.

Response:

solar water heater with tankless systemI just got a free solar collector which was used for a hot water heater. It was not wanted anymore so all I had to do was take it down and haul it away. I want to use it for my swimming pool. Questions: 1, The collector is a 4′x10′ pacific west solar panel. Glass and metal collector. The water was scalding hot when it was in use, so I think it will help with my pool which is almost totally shaded from October thru March. Living in the Phx AZ area The pool is plenty warm from April to Sept, but I want to extend that usse time. 2. Any ideas to help me with the plumbing into the system? I have the circulating pump and controller from the heater and think I would like to plumb the line into the pool using that pump. I may need to use a different controller, but would like opinions. My pool has an in-floor cleaning system, so I think I need to plumb the solar heated water into the system usnig the return line which by passes the cleaning system? Right? What about line size from the collector to the pool?  The collector has about 3/4 inch copper but the pool return is about 1.5″ pvc. What else do I need? Check valves? Any helpful insight will be appreciated.

Most pool collectors are plastic, because of the pool water. If your going to use a domestic h2o panel you, in my opinion should put in an heat exhanger so that the pool water does not eat the collector. solar water heater with tankless system

Response: