Let the sun cut your water-heating costs with a Solar Thermal System
Renewable energy and solar energy experts in Illinois
Major savings on the roof. The collector for a solar hot water system can be mounted on just about any roof with good solar exposure.
Think about what happens when a car sits in the sun all day. The dashboard and seats can get too hot to touch, while the air inside the car becomes hotter than the air outside. It's a powerful display of the sun's radiant energy. A solar thermal system harnesses the sun's energy in a very similar way. An insulated, glass-faced solar collector is filled with black-painted tubing and interior surfaces that absorb solar heat and use it to heat water for washing and/or home heating.
Solar energy can be used in several ways
You may hear solar thermal systems referred to as "solar hot water systems." Both terms are accurate, and distinguish this type of system from a "solar photovoltaic" or "solar PV" system that converts sunlight into electricity. Other ways to use solar energy include direct solar gain through insulated windows —a very basic way to reduce winter heating costs.
A solar thermal system can cut water heating costs by up to 80%!
It's not difficult to understand why solar thermal systems are so popular. Just consider the following advantages:
- Solar thermal technology has a long and successful track record. The first roof-mounted solar thermal collectors were developed over a century ago! Today's systems are efficient, reliable, and designed to provide many years of trouble-free savings.
- A solar thermal system is usually less expensive to install than a solar PV system. Local and Federal incentives can reduce installation costs even further.
- With rising energy costs, solar thermal systems offer serious savings. Water heating can account for 15% or more of total energy use, so cutting this expense by up to 80% translates to hundreds of dollars per year. Even greater savings are possible if solar-heated water is used for heating as well as washing.
- "Green" features improve home value. Research done by the National Association of Home Builders shows that homes with energy-saving features sell faster and for higher prices than homes without such features.
How it works: Closed-loop systems are the most common
In a closed-loop solar thermal system, an antifreeze solution circulates between the solar collector and a heat exchanger in the hot water tank. This approach allows the system to function year-round, with no danger of damage due to freezing weather.
When the antifreeze in the collector reaches a certain temperature, a control module activates a pump to move the hot fluid through the heat exchanger to heat the water in the tank. When solar heat is limited or unavailable, water in the tank can be heated by an electric heating element or a tankless water heater.
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