Passive Solar Heating – Glass is all you need
Passive Solar Heating Glass is all you need
Pictures: Seven Supergreen U.S. Government Buildings
A subterranean labyrinth in the Rockies, breathing curtain walls by San Francisco Bay, and a Manhattan sky park highlight the U.S. government’s drive to cut down its prodigious use of energy.
Types Of Solar Water Heating Systems
Solar Hot Water Systems – One and Two Tank Systems
Solar hot water systems generate hot water for domestic and commercial uses. Solar hot water systems are eco-friendly, require very little maintenance and are cost effective to operate. They require very little maintenance. The components of solar hot water systems should be checked and possibly replaced every ten years by a solar energy contractor.
Solar hot water systems generally consist of solar collectors, water storage tanks and piping for feed and return lines.
Two tank Solar hot water systems consist of a well insulated, solar storage tank and a pressurized conventional water heater. Hot water from the collectors is piped to the solar storage tank and is stored until needed. When hot water is in use in the home, this pre-heated water in the solar storage tank will feed into the conventional water heater to replace the hot water used. Conventional water heaters also provide a backup system to solar water heating systems when water temperature is below the minimum temperature setting.
One tank Solar power water heaters use a conventional pressurized tank. This tank, with its backup water heater, acts as the solar storage unit. Hot water from the collectors is piped into the tank, into the lower portion of the tank, to replace hot water that is being used from the top of the tank. The backup water heater will engage if necessary.
Solar Hot Water Systems – Types of Solar Collectors
Domestic solar hot water systems use two types of solar collectors, flat-plate collectors and evacuated-tube collectors.
Flat-plate solar collectors consist of an insulated box which contains a dark absorber plate under one or more glass covers. Water or a glycol mixture is heated as it flows through piping below the absorber plate and out to the solar Heating tank . These are the most common type of solar collectors used in solar hot water systems.
Evacuated-tube solar collectors contain parallel rows of transparent glass tubes. Each of the tubes contains a glass outer tube and a metal absorber tube attached to a fin. The fin absorbs solar energy. Air is evacuated and a vacuum is formed which prevents heat loss. Evacuated-tube collectors are more expensive than flat-plate solar collectors.
Solar Hot Water Systems – Closed Loop and Open Loop Systems
Solar hot water systems utilize the natural resource of the sun’s radiation to heat water for domestic and commercial use.
There are two basic types of solar hot water systems, closed loop systems and open loop systems.
In an open loop solar hot water system, water from the home’s main water supply flows through the solar collectors to be heated. Heated water is then stored in the solar storage tank. An open loop system is the easiest solar hot water system to design, construct and maintain. An open loop system should not be used where temperatures can drop below freezing.
A closed loop solar hot water system uses a glycol antifreeze fluid that circulates from the solar collectors to the solar water storage tank. When the fluid is heated, it will flow through the heat exchanger and heat the water in the storage tank. A closed loop system may be used in any climate.
About the Author
Jeanette Gretsch is the president of SolarHotUSA which deals in solar water heaters and other solar energy products. She is a chemistry graduate from Georgia Institute of Technology and have a vast experience in solar water heating systems
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July 2nd, 2008 at 4:38 am
Thank you so much, Im looking for this kind of information because Im getting a social work policy practice degree and dont know what to try doing with it yet, this is so awesome!
July 5th, 2008 at 2:03 am
Thank you for the positive response, but, we strongly recommend against the use of strawbale construction, due to many pests, unhealthy mold, etc., and the need for toxic pesticides that can find their way into your home.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:17 am
Patented by E. Morse 1881, revived by F. Trombe 1960′s. Massive wall covered with glass. Serious Flaws: Blocks daylight and views through the glass. SLOWS solar heating in the morning. Concentrates afternoon heat on the warm side – does NOT heat cold side. At night, high temperature thermal mass next to glass = high heat loss. Significant summer heat problems to deal with. This flawed design is still referenced by out-of-date passive solar design texts, without sufficient critical analysis.
July 5th, 2008 at 3:46 am
Do you have more data on this problem, for i’ve done a lot of research by talking to 2 green architects and also visited a 3000sft strawbale home on a tour. This wasn’t their biggest issue here in Nv.. Finding qualified people seem more of their issues. I’m also looking at SIP walls if this doesn’t work out for me thou but i really want those deep windows, alcoves, etc… thanks!
July 5th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
SIP’s are cost-effective, good insulation and infiltration barrier. We recommend AGAINST wasWOOD OSB and plywood due to: (1) need for toxic termite treatments, and (2) formaldehyde. Use Concrete-board SIP’s. There are lawsuits against FEMA for the 143,000 trailers for disaster victims with high formaldehyde levels from OSB, particle board cabinets / furniture, carpets, etc. Taxpayers will pay billions in health damage settlements. The European Union made ALL formaldehyde products ILLEGAL.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:54 am
Outstanding even for a French guy.
5 *****
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Very well explained!
January 31st, 2009 at 9:40 pm
That sounds good for us, but bad for the world corporations that would want to monopolize on such knowledge.
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:25 am
Thanks for spreading the word about passive solar…what the
f ck could be easier for people? Keep up the good work…you are a hero.
February 15th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
This seems pretty good. However, if you say you can use a greenhouse on the south side, but you don’t allow cieling glass, how will the plants get enough sunshine during the winter?
February 18th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
during the winter the travels a much lower arc in the sky , wall windows are much more important in winter than cieling glass . in summer the plants can go outside , and the wall glass will not allow as much light in due to the suns higher arc of travel . keeps summer heat out=lower air conditioning cost. =)
March 30th, 2009 at 9:36 am
How does any plant receive sunshine through any southern window? Roof angled glass is a thermal disaster summer and winter – See our website.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
roof vents sound like a problem in the winter.. how do you seal such a thing???
June 9th, 2009 at 12:15 am
imma build my house with this stuff
big south windows
small south widows
pine trees in the north
maple type trees in the front (doesnt heat in in the summer but does in the winter)
thermal mass in the basement
all that stuff
its gunna be great
June 9th, 2009 at 12:17 am
the sun is going to be angled to shine into the window more then it in going to be strait up and down
June 15th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Smart design = savings and good living. I grew up in a solar passive home and loved it. Such simple technology is awesome.
June 21st, 2009 at 9:27 am
I would venture to say 99% of al houses in the United States have roof vents. Have you ever been in the attic of a house? there is a ridge vent, the eaves are open vents, and there are sometimes peak vents on either end of the house.
You would never want to seal a house completely. Moisture buildup would cause the wood decking of most roofs to rot so you must allow venting. Its common building practices.
June 21st, 2009 at 12:13 pm
i meant the ones he has on top of the roof?
they are sort of like a skylight which he says are bad
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:15 am
Keep the heat storage source separate and sealed – swimming pools in the house are nothing but trouble.
September 12th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Our pool is NOT “in the house” Its isolated in its solarium. Its typically only used an hour a day. The rest of the time its sealed with a cover that blocks evaporation. When the solarium temperature rises, fresh air comes in at the base of the ZED Thermal Buffer Zone through two 100′-long 6′-deep earth cool tubes. Hot air and humidity exhaust out the top through 3 turbine vents that total 7200 CFM. When the poolroom cools, the vents seal – Simple, easy, well-thought 1979 ZED solutions.
September 12th, 2009 at 12:18 am
Skylights allow high sun in to create a solar furnace in the summer, while reflecting 47-degree lower sun in the winter. In stark contrast, wind-powered rooftop turbine vents exhaust hot air in the summer, and then have a positive-seal dampler that closes when the Thermal Buffer Zone cools down – VERY Different indeed.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Great and informative video.
If only more people got interested to stop those CO2 gasses to ruin the environment.
In Mexico there is a big shortage of water, however, if most people had a rainwatercollector to use rainwater to flush toilets – the shortage would disappear immediately.
I have a simple solar water heater that saves up to 50% of my gas use, another CO2 reducer.
Simple solutions to simple problems, the point is, people do not think about them.
Regards from Mexico
January 20th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Are there any houses like this in new England?
February 11th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Sure. The basic south-facing Salt Box has been built in New England since before 1645. See “Saltbox” in Wikipedia.
February 13th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
See our Zero Energy Design®
“Affordable, Low-Energy, Low-Income Housing” detailed design material on our ZED CD-ROM