Evacuated Heat Pipe Solar Hot Water System

Solar hot water system installed in 2009.

Evacuated heat-pipe solar collector system (74 heat pipes).

Total liquid in system is approximately 5 gallons of non-toxic Glycol (rated to -70 degrees F).

Links for solar collectors:
http://www.siliconsolar.com/solar-energy-store.html
http://gearsolar.com/

Solar Controller (Sorry John...I pronounced your last name wrong.)
http://jc-solarhomes.com/

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Solar
• Evacuated Heat Pipe
• solar hot water

[trailkeeper]

Besides being a a slight eyesore, some adjustable mirrors, maby 1 square meter each of mirror area, can add a few hundred "watts" worth of heat into your system.

[Kntryhart]

@trailkeeper : If you look very closely at the collector units, you'll see a reflective material located behind the tubes (notice the full shadows).

I installed highly reflective mylar to reflect sunlight back onto the tubes.

It does seem to increase the overall efficiency.

I think trying to keep a mirror aimed properly throughout the day / year and the size of the mirror required would prove to be impracticle. Thanks for the thought though.

[d3adp001]

very cool. Do you have any idea how much wood it is offsetting? Round about numbers?

[Kntryhart]

@d3adp001 Thanks for the interest. I live in Chenango County, NY and this winter has been a long and cold. Here's some "best guesstimates".

Late April - Mid Sept - 100% (heat off, domestic only).

Late Sept - Early Nov. - 25% reduction in firewood (heat on).

Late Nov - Early March - 5% reduction in firewood (short days, lots of snow, very cold).

Last few days with full sun, 50% reduction in firewood.

If I had more collectors and more storage, I might not need the firewood at all.

[CheapEnergyIdeas]

very cool..what do you heat the shed with? ;)

[ciockyvisa]

hi, nice vid u got here, can you tell me more aboaut that controller, whare can i get one , thanks

[jcanivan]

Great Job with the evacuated tube heat collection system. I never expected my controller to be used at such high temperatures. I am glad it's working for you. Now if you could only figure out a way to make use the summertime heat you'd realy be cooking with sunshine. I think you could use a larger heat storage system. Another idea would involve making a sun shed for the collectors and store the hot water and other things right in the shed.

keep on trucking... Goog job

[trailkeeper]

Well, maby for an hour or two it would work ok, then need adjustment, even if done by hand. It's possible some type of pulleys and ropes can be used for steering from a distance. It's an idea at least. Rear reflectors like you mentioned are good, perhaps nearly doubling the power at times.

[d3adp001]

5% during the ugly months? Must have been a tough winter. But that is great. Very cool project. HAve you considered doing any bio gas work?

[ReeallityBytes]

Nice.