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 Residential Hot Water: The solar industry went through explosive growth in the 80’s as a result of generous Federal and State Tax Credits. Most of the solar projects back then were solar hot water systems and many are still producing non-polluting hot water after 30 years of operation. Robert Chew, President started his solar company in 1977 installing solar hot water systems. The systems have improved over the years and are even more reliable and efficient. In New England where we have many days below freezing, we use a closed-loop system that uses non-toxic propylene-glycol as the antifreeze. These systems either use flat plate collectors that are typically around 4' × 8' or evacuated tube solar collectors. We recommend using the tried and true flat plate collectors for most installations because they are more attractive and have a proven track record. For roofs that can’t fit the larger flat plate collectors, the evacuated tube collectors are the best choice.
The solar hot water systems act as a pre-heater for the existing water heater, whether it’s a stand-alone water heater or a tankless water heater. The solar storage tank will send solar heated water into the cold water inlet of the existing water heater. As long as the water from the solar storage tank is at or above the temperature setting of the water heater, the water heater doesn’t have to turn on.
As a general rule, a smaller family would require two 4' × 8' flat plate collectors with an 80 gallon storage tank. A larger family would require three or four 4' × 8' flat plate collectors with a 120 gallon solar storage tank. The average solar hot water system will provide around 70% of your family’s hot water needs. To find out about any state or federal incentives in your area, visit www.dsireusa.org
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 Commercial Hot Water: Businesses that use a lot of hot water are excellent candidates for a solar hot water system. These businesses include gymnasiums, laundromats, restaurants, car washes and factories that use a lot of hot water in the manufacturing process. We can use either flat plate solar collectors or evacuated solar collectors. Evacuated solar collectors perform better during cold or cloudy days but won’t last as long as a flat plate collector. We can mount the array on a sloped or a flat roof, on the south wall of your building or on the ground. To find out about any state or federal incentives in your area, visit www.dsireusa.org
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The collecters want to be:
- Facing in a generally southerly facing direction. If the collectors face East or West, we can add another collector to make up for the loss of efficiency.
- Unshaded most of the day. If there is some tree shading we can add another collector to make up for the loss of efficiency.
- Tilted at 45 degrees in New England. If you want to increase winter solar performance, you can add an extra collector and tilt the array up to 55 degrees.
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| SolarWrights is a factory-direct dealer for Viessmann, Sandia Evacuated Solar Collectors, and Heliodyne Flat Plate Collectors. |
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Design
