Hi, typical payback is around 2 years for the air systems and 3 to 4 years for the hydronic (liquid / water) systems. They should last decades, so either way, your investment will pay you back many times over. That said, the money savings isn't the best reason to do solar. The best reason of all is that this is all really, really interesting and fun!
How long did it take to get 100% payback on the investment? Once that is reached it's all bonus savings! It seems this would pay off in a few years. I love the concept of getting back at my electric company.
@GScottVideos awesome! How did you figure out how much copper line you would need for your heat storage/transfer tank? Also, would you have better efficiency if you doubled the amount rows of pex in the panel? Thanks!
@solarguyable Hi, regarding the copper in the solar thermal storage tank, I just used about 75 feet - what I happened to have on hand. Regarding doubling the pex rows, yes, I think that would not only collect more heat directly, but by feeding in parallel, resistance would be reduced and my total flow would increase, so that would help in two ways. You sound like you would enjoy our SimplySolar e-mail group. We would love to have you join us!
Very good Scott you did a nice job. I have had Passive (hot water) solar for about 25 years. only in the last 2 years have I added PV. We generate enough power that our power bills are 0, no KW used during the billing cycle. I like the Idea of your Hot air exchanger I will have to look into that. Let us know how the system works through the winter. 73 kd6vum
@dictaham Thanks, the aluminum downspout hot air collector is entering its third winter and it has worked really well so far. I have efficiency numbers on the hot air link at n3fjp.com/solar/. Also on the same page, you'll see a similar but even better design that another Scott, Scott S, built after seeing mine. He has excellent efficiency numbers with his and I have all that info at the bottom of the page.
@MrMhoskote The large, 24' X 8' collector took parts of four weekends to build (roughly). The cost for the collector itself was just under a thousand, but could have been done for less.
Hi, typical payback is around 2 years for the air systems and 3 to 4 years for the hydronic (liquid / water) systems. They should last decades, so either way, your investment will pay you back many times over. That said, the money savings isn't the best reason to do solar. The best reason of all is that this is all really, really interesting and fun!
GScottVideos 2 weeks ago
How long did it take to get 100% payback on the investment? Once that is reached it's all bonus savings! It seems this would pay off in a few years. I love the concept of getting back at my electric company.
beerman1957 2 weeks ago in playlist More videos from GScottVideos
hello great system looks impressive, i was wondering what you used to line the inside of your hot water tank?
raidnuker 1 year ago
@raidnuker Hi,
I used EPDM pond liner to line the thermal storage tank. It is good to something like 200F and should last a LONG time.
GScottVideos 1 year ago
Great System! How do you keep the water lines from bursting when the outside temp gets below freezing?
solarguyable 1 year ago
@solarguyable I use a mixture of water and environmentally friendly glycol so that the fluid never freezes.
GScottVideos 1 year ago
@GScottVideos awesome! How did you figure out how much copper line you would need for your heat storage/transfer tank? Also, would you have better efficiency if you doubled the amount rows of pex in the panel? Thanks!
solarguyable 1 year ago
@solarguyable Hi, regarding the copper in the solar thermal storage tank, I just used about 75 feet - what I happened to have on hand. Regarding doubling the pex rows, yes, I think that would not only collect more heat directly, but by feeding in parallel, resistance would be reduced and my total flow would increase, so that would help in two ways. You sound like you would enjoy our SimplySolar e-mail group. We would love to have you join us!
GScottVideos 1 year ago
Thanks for the video and sharing this information. I look forward to constructing one of these myself. Your video was very inspiring.
TouchOfGreatness 1 year ago
@TouchOfGreatness Thanks for your kind words!
GScottVideos 1 year ago
Bravo.
SkyCharter 1 year ago
Very good Scott you did a nice job. I have had Passive (hot water) solar for about 25 years. only in the last 2 years have I added PV. We generate enough power that our power bills are 0, no KW used during the billing cycle. I like the Idea of your Hot air exchanger I will have to look into that. Let us know how the system works through the winter. 73 kd6vum
dictaham 1 year ago
@dictaham Thanks, the aluminum downspout hot air collector is entering its third winter and it has worked really well so far. I have efficiency numbers on the hot air link at n3fjp.com/solar/. Also on the same page, you'll see a similar but even better design that another Scott, Scott S, built after seeing mine. He has excellent efficiency numbers with his and I have all that info at the bottom of the page.
GScottVideos 1 year ago
I have lots more details on the construction and costs of the 24' X 8' collector here:
n3fjp.com/solar/BigProject/BigProject.htm
GScottVideos 1 year ago
Very nice video presentation. Some info on costs (such as $/sq.ft) and time it took to build will be useful.
Mangesh
MrMhoskote 1 year ago
@MrMhoskote The large, 24' X 8' collector took parts of four weekends to build (roughly). The cost for the collector itself was just under a thousand, but could have been done for less.
GScottVideos 1 year ago
Scott
Great job on the collector array and on the video. Keep them comming.
John
jcanivan 1 year ago
Looks like it works great thanks for the video.TAKE CARE
michael970 1 year ago