Is Solar Water Heating Reliable?
One of the issues that came up in the interviews at World Environment Day was the question of the reliability of solar water heating.
Some people have experienced problems with earlier systems that did not have enough capacity to handle a few days of grey skies.
There are three components to that issue
1) Tank Size
All tanks have great insulation, so that the heat-loss over a few days is minimised. The more important factor is how much hot water is used. According to the Sustainable Energy Development Office of WA an average person uses 50 Litre of hot water per day.
The water in the tank heats up to 90 degrees in summer, but gets mixed with cold water when it comes out (to 50 degrees, so that no one gets burnt). That means a 300 Litre tank has a capacity of close to 550 Litre of 50 degree water. So for a family of four, it can last close to 3 days without any sunshine.
So the bigger the tank, the more hot water you bank.
2) Solar Water Heating Collectors
Efficiency of collectors depends on a lot of factors. We check them all on this website and then again before installation to make sure you get the best efficiency out of your system.
We use the highly efficient black chrome technology in all our split solar hot water systems. That means that even if your roof faces East or West you still only need 4-6 hours to fully heat your tank.
3) The Booster
The last element in solar water heating is the booster. It has a thermostat that is set to 60 degrees. So whenever the water temperature falls below 60 degrees, it automatically heats it up.
Some people leave the booster turned on all the time. However, I have used solar hot water for 3 years now and found that it is hardly ever necessary. We usually have it turned off and only turn it on when the fourth day of clouds is approaching.
Conclusion
Is solar hot water heating reliable? Yes absolutely. The technology is well matured since the 1950’s. It is highly efficient (up to 80% of the sun’s energy is turned into hot water) and it has a reliable backup with the booster.
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Tags: booster, collection panel, solar water heating, tank size