Posted by Vic Smith on February 7, 2010, 1:29 am
On Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:27:40 -0600, Vic Smith
>wrote:
>>Ohioguy wrote:
>>> Has anyone out there successfully set up a solar water heater? I'm
>>> in a situation where I have an electric water heater being delivered
>>> next week. I'm thinking about putting in some sort of solar water
>>> heater down the road, to help with heating the water, and was
>>> wondering - is there anything I should do NOW to make adding
>>> something like that easier down the road?
>>
>>One of the simplest additions
>>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=batch+solar+water+preheater&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&oq=
>>
>I like the simple stuff. My old house in Chicago had a what you could
>call a "leveling" or "moderating" or "economizer" tank.
>Pick your term. Basically an uninsulated tank that accepted the city
>water before it was pushed into the water heater.
>Chicago water is very cold, even in the summer, and this tank served
>to warm it up a bit before heating. Not effective in the winter
>though.
>When you think about the length of sunshine in northern climes, solar
>makes sense only if you can store the heated water, and that takes
>some doing.
>With the cold water we get up here, it can probably save some money
>if the system is simple.
>I got to thinking about it while gardening and seeing how the garden
>hose held quite a bit of hot water after some time in the sun.
>My feed from the ground puts really cold water to the hot water
>heater. Only a short run of 3/4" from the ground to the tank.
>An insulated "economizer" tank would make a difference.
That would be "uninsulated."
>If I did the solar here, I'd put an insulated holding tank in the
>basement to prefeed the water heater. Run the cold water to the yard
>to flow though some kind of ray absorbing piping laid out in the sun,
>then back to the holding tank.
>Piping could be some sort of black PVC, or copper loops painted black.
>Don't think I'd put anything on the roof, or even use a glass
>enclosure.
>Up here for about 5 months of the year I'd restore the normal feed to
>avoid freezing.
>It would pay off, but not much. And it'd be a hassle and an eyesore
>with that collection method. But it's a cheap way to go.
>Have to time your heaviest hot water use to make the best of it.
>--Vic
>
>
Posted by Gary Heston on February 7, 2010, 2:05 pm
[ ... ]
>If I did the solar here, I'd put an insulated holding tank in the
>basement to prefeed the water heater. Run the cold water to the yard
>to flow though some kind of ray absorbing piping laid out in the sun,
>then back to the holding tank.
[ ... ]
Put the holding tank in your attic, over a tray to catch
condensation. It'll absorb heat in the summer from solar
gain, and in the winter any heat escaping into the attic
will help warm it--although not much, it'd be better than
nothing.
Gary
--
Gary Heston gheston@hiwaay.net http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
"It's kind of hard to rally 'round a math class."
Paul "Bear" Bryant
Posted by Lou on February 7, 2010, 7:08 pm
> [ ... ]
> >If I did the solar here, I'd put an insulated holding tank in the
> >basement to prefeed the water heater. Run the cold water to the yard
> >to flow though some kind of ray absorbing piping laid out in the sun,
> >then back to the holding tank.
> [ ... ]
> Put the holding tank in your attic, over a tray to catch
> condensation. It'll absorb heat in the summer from solar
> gain, and in the winter any heat escaping into the attic
> will help warm it--although not much, it'd be better than
> nothing.
Around here, people insulate the floor of the attic, not the ceiling - the
attic volume is open to the winter air via vents. I wouldn't put a tank of
water that might freeze above my living space. Or anywhere else, if I
wanted the water to stay in the tank.
Posted by vjp2.at on February 9, 2010, 10:59 am
My relatives in Athens, Greece have had one since about 1982, but only
in the summer.
- = -
Vasos Panagiotopoulos, Columbia'81+, Reagan, Mozart, Pindus, BioStrategist
http://www.panix.com/~vjp2/vasos.htm http://www.facebook.com/vasjpan2
---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}---
[Homeland Security means private firearms not lazy obstructive guards]
[Urb sprawl confounds terror] [Phooey on GUI: Windows for subprime Bimbos]
Posted by Ohioguy on February 10, 2010, 4:19 am
So from what I'm hearing, having a holding tank to increase the
incoming water from something like 52 degrees F (the ground water temp
here year round) to a higher temp when it enters the electric water
heater would be a way to go. Too bad there is not some simple way to
get the waste heat out of the drain water from our 3 showers/bathtubs,
and use some of that to help preheat this water. Sounds like that would
be too complicated, though.
And then, if I were to use some sort of solar heating system, sounds
like it would be best to be on from about April 1 to November 1.
Otherwise, I'd have to rig up some sort of antifreeze based exchanger
system.
The simplest solution would probably just be to rig up an insulated
bathtub in the basement, fill it up 2/3 of the way and put a floating
heat blanket on top of it. Then I could use a solar powered pump and
some small black plastic tubing with water, & see how hot it gets. If
it worked, I could just use the sun to heat all of my bath water.
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>>Ohioguy wrote:
>>> Has anyone out there successfully set up a solar water heater? I'm
>>> in a situation where I have an electric water heater being delivered
>>> next week. I'm thinking about putting in some sort of solar water
>>> heater down the road, to help with heating the water, and was
>>> wondering - is there anything I should do NOW to make adding
>>> something like that easier down the road?
>>
>>One of the simplest additions
>>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=batch+solar+water+preheater&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&oq=
>>
>I like the simple stuff. My old house in Chicago had a what you could
>call a "leveling" or "moderating" or "economizer" tank.
>Pick your term. Basically an uninsulated tank that accepted the city
>water before it was pushed into the water heater.
>Chicago water is very cold, even in the summer, and this tank served
>to warm it up a bit before heating. Not effective in the winter
>though.
>When you think about the length of sunshine in northern climes, solar
>makes sense only if you can store the heated water, and that takes
>some doing.
>With the cold water we get up here, it can probably save some money
>if the system is simple.
>I got to thinking about it while gardening and seeing how the garden
>hose held quite a bit of hot water after some time in the sun.
>My feed from the ground puts really cold water to the hot water
>heater. Only a short run of 3/4" from the ground to the tank.
>An insulated "economizer" tank would make a difference.