Solar Water Heaters, Tankless Water Heaters, and Hot Water Demand Systems
I was asked by a potential customer about using a solar water heater in conjunction with a tankless water heater this morning. Using a solar water heater to feed a tankless water heater is a great idea and a green idea too.
Solar water heaters come in several types including active systems including direct, indirect, and passive.
The passive solar systems locate the storage tank above the solar panels, that way the hot water rises into the storage tank, and cooler water from the tank sinks down to the bottom of the collectors. This thermo siphon cycle continues as long as the water in the collectors is being heated.
In active type solar systems a pump circulates the water from the collectors into the storage tank when the temperature in the collectors is sufficiently high and above the temperature in the tank. Some systems use an indirect method of heating the water. These indirect systems circulate a fluid through the solar collectors and then through a heat exchanger in the hot water tank.
Solar hot water tanks are very well insulated, and they do not have a flue through the center, so they have minimal standby losses.
Tankless water heaters modulate the gas burners or electric heating elements to maintain a steady pre-set outlet temperature. If you feed the inlet with the outlet from your solar water heater the tankless unit will not turn on unless the water temperature coming from the solar water hater isn’t hot enough, and if it isn’t, it will burn just enough gas or consume just enough current to keep the outlet temperature at the pre-set temperature.
You end up with a highly efficient hot water plumbing system that uses the minimum amount of energy when solar hot water is available, and you still have unlimited amounts of hot water when you need it. It’s a great way to turn your residential plumbing system green.
Adding a hot water demand system makes the system even greener. By adding the hot water pump you save water as well as energy. A demand pump uses very little energy, typically about $2.00 per year in electricity costs, and saves many thousands of gallons of water per year.
By combining all three items, solar hot water heating, tankless hot water heater, and a hot water demand system you get the greenest possible solution to your hot water problems providing you with water savings, energy savings, and the convenience of fast and endless hot water. You reduce green house gas emissions and reduce your carbon foot print and save money.
More about Solar and Tankless Combined
Solar water heaters come in several types including active systems including direct, indirect, and passive.
The passive solar systems locate the storage tank above the solar panels, that way the hot water rises into the storage tank, and cooler water from the tank sinks down to the bottom of the collectors. This thermo siphon cycle continues as long as the water in the collectors is being heated.
In active type solar systems a pump circulates the water from the collectors into the storage tank when the temperature in the collectors is sufficiently high and above the temperature in the tank. Some systems use an indirect method of heating the water. These indirect systems circulate a fluid through the solar collectors and then through a heat exchanger in the hot water tank.
Solar hot water tanks are very well insulated, and they do not have a flue through the center, so they have minimal standby losses.
Tankless water heaters modulate the gas burners or electric heating elements to maintain a steady pre-set outlet temperature. If you feed the inlet with the outlet from your solar water heater the tankless unit will not turn on unless the water temperature coming from the solar water hater isn’t hot enough, and if it isn’t, it will burn just enough gas or consume just enough current to keep the outlet temperature at the pre-set temperature.
You end up with a highly efficient hot water plumbing system that uses the minimum amount of energy when solar hot water is available, and you still have unlimited amounts of hot water when you need it. It’s a great way to turn your residential plumbing system green.
Adding a hot water demand system makes the system even greener. By adding the hot water pump you save water as well as energy. A demand pump uses very little energy, typically about $2.00 per year in electricity costs, and saves many thousands of gallons of water per year.
By combining all three items, solar hot water heating, tankless hot water heater, and a hot water demand system you get the greenest possible solution to your hot water problems providing you with water savings, energy savings, and the convenience of fast and endless hot water. You reduce green house gas emissions and reduce your carbon foot print and save money.
More about Solar and Tankless Combined
Labels: gas water heaters, hot water pumps, solar water heaters
posted by Hot Water Guy at
2:42 PM
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