Big, 24' X 8' Solar Collector Using PEX Tubing - Step by Step How to Build

[CheapEnergyIdeas]

actually to be totally apples to apples yours tank is 5 times bigger than a 40 gallon water heater so .145fpm x 5= .725fpm would be your rate compared to a water household water tank..in other words if your collector only had to heat a 40 gallon tank it wold probably hit near .725Fpm because the collector cycles the 40g tank 5 times faster than a 200g ...excellent job man!!

[GScottVideos]

@CheapEnergyIdeas Hi, This collector has just over a 30F temperature rise at a gallon a minute. I have a 200 gallon thermal storage tank. Figure 5 hours of sun X 60 minutes per hour X 30 degrees / 200 gallons = 45 degrees of temperature rise for the 200 gallon tank. If the tank starts out at 80F, it can reach about 125F, so that works out about right.

[GScottVideos]

@CheapEnergyIdeas Hi, flow rate is based on the size of the pump less system resistance.

[CheapEnergyIdeas]

HI Scott ,love the panel..but i think you got flowrate and temp rise per min combined? or somthing..anyway..just a fyi your gain is .145 F per minute aka 85f to 120F in 4hrs = 35f/240min= .145Fpm and not 3Fpm . At 3f per minute your temp rise after 240 minutes would be 720F and your water would have boiled off 3hrs ago! ofcoarse i'm assuming a no demand situation during the 4hrs you talked about. An avg gas water heater does about .66F per minute so .145 is good for a freebie!;) peace.

[ScalerWave]

Wow, great job! Very nice design. I don't have room for something so huge but would like to build something similar for heating water.

[GScottVideos]

@ScalerWave Hi, thanks for your kind words! The beauty of these designs is that you can build to whatever area you have. It can be horizontal against the wall, on your roof or out in the yard in any dimensions you like!

[DaveTheyCallme]

Any problems with the Pex expanding since im told it expands 1" per 100' per 10 f . temp. difference ??? Any other problems ?? Ill check back soon. Thanks.

[GScottVideos]

@DaveTheyCallme Hi, I used Pex-Al-Pex, which only expands 1/10 as much as regualr pex. That said, take a look at the latest video I did on my CPVC collector. It is very promising too!

[kevjay777]

Scott,

I've been stewing for several years on what route to go for our solar water heating. I had pretty well settled on an IPSWH but your video has changed my mind - I'm going to replicate your design almost exactly.

I just wanted to say thanks for making such a fantastic video and sharing it like this. If I make a video of my build - and I plan to - I will certainly give you credit for the design with a link. I'm sure you don't care about that but hey, you deserve the accolades. Cheers.

[GScottVideos]

@kevjay777 Thanks for your kind words! I'd love to see you make a video too. People need to learn there really are good heating alternatives to burning fossil fuel that work well, save money and most of all, are interesting in fun! Please join us on SimplySolar if you haven't already. I'd love to follow along with the progress of your build!

[enticed2zeitgeist]

Dude, amazing video. Thank you so much for making it.

How much did this dent your utility bills? 10%-20%?

[GScottVideos]

@enticed2zeitgeist That's a hard question to answer precisely as each winter is different in terms of temperatures, wind, etc. Also, by heating with solar, the room gets a few degrees warmer than it would have been with just the furnace, so there is a quality or added comfort component as well, that we wouldn't have been able to enjoy without solar. I would say that we've reduced our utility bills in the neighborhood of 25% conservatively with this collector.

[enticed2zeitgeist]

@GScottVideos That's fantastic man! I'm curious though, how long is heated return line from the panel to your home? Have you ever considered taking the temp of the water at the beginning of the return line and comparing it with the temp at the end of the return line (the house)?

[boxa888]

yes! do you have any winter estimates, this was a long winter this year, you could get a very good figure from this!! how did it work!!! great work! this is awesome! you can probably make even more loops and layer them and get a ton of hot water!! thanks for helping people out!!!

[garand]

I love this stuff. I'd be interested to see how much you paid vs how much you save yearly.

[GScottVideos]

Thanks for your kind words! Yes, I'm using a Taco 009 pump.

[richallenmusic]

are you using a pump on that ? great video

[GScottVideos]

Hi Stephen,

I put weather stripping around the opening of the door to the tank, both above and below, with retaining heat in mind, but it make a pretty good seal. I haven't noticed any more moisture than how the basement typically felt before I started.

[Crimdog]

Your videos have inspired me to start planning a solar build of my own. I have a question about your storage tank. With the tank in your basement how do you deal with moisture?

Thanks!

Stephen

[GScottVideos]

Thanks for your comments! I use a water / glycol mixture here too as we will get near zero Fahrenheit temperatures one or two times a year, with lows more typically in the 20s (F).

Solar collectors will work fine even when the ambient air is really cold. We have folks on our Simply Solar group from cold regions including Ontario, Minnesota and Alaska who all get great results with their collectors. Please join our group and ask them about their experiences first hand!

Take care,

Scott

[Bronislawsky]

I find it really amazing, I doubt this would work where I live during the winter ( Quebec,Canada) because it gets sometimes down to -30C. I'd have to use Glycol.

But I'm going to start a 40 feets long by 2 feet high downspouts solar collector set on the roof of my house. During the winter I get sun from 8h30am to 1pm from the east side of the house and if the sun melt the snow on the root at -30C it probably can warm up air. I've never seen any data from very cold region like here.