Archive for the ‘Solar Hot Water Heaters’ Category

What Are Solar Water Heaters?

Monday, June 12th, 2023

With the rising awareness of environmental issues and the need for sustainable energy solutions, solar power has gained significant popularity. Solar panels on rooftops are a common sight, but did you know that solar energy can also be used to heat water? HB Energy Systems is here to help you explore the fascinating world of solar water heaters, their benefits, and how they work to provide an eco-friendly and cost-effective solution for hot water needs.

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Why Consider a Solar Hot Water Heater?

Friday, March 27th, 2015

It wasn’t too long ago that the only choice you had to make in regard to your home’s hot water heater was whether you were going to use electricity or gas, oil or propane to heat the water. These days there are a number of options for homeowners, and one such option is the solar hot water heater. There can be concerns about using solar energy for any kind of heating, particularly in a cold climate like ours, but using environmentally-friendly refrigerant helps harness the sun’s latent heat energy year-round, including the chilly New Hampshire winter months. If you are ready for a new water heater in your New Hampshire home, and want to see if a solar water heater is a good fit, call the experts at HB Energy Solutions today!

How It Works

Because we live in a climate where water can easily freeze during the winter months, we use a solar hot water heater system that utilizes a solar collector and environmentally-friendly refrigerant. The solar collector is a protected panel that has a dark glass surface; contained inside the collector are numerous tubes that hold the refrigerant. The solar collector serves as the device by which the heat from the sun is ‘collected’ and heats the refrigerant in the tubes. Once the refrigerant is warm enough, it is circulated to a heat exchanger that resides in the tank of your hot water heater. The heat from the refrigerant is transferred to the water, and you’ve got hot water for your home.

Benefits

There are a number of benefits to using a solar hot water heater:

  • You can still have gas or electric back-up – using a tank water heater allows you to have back-up power for your hot water heater in the form of electricity or gas. As such, you’ll never have to worry that the sun alone won’t provide enough heat for your hot water.
  • Significant decrease of energy usage – it’s estimated that solar hot water heaters reduce your energy usage by 50-80%. This can significantly reduce your home’s energy usage.
  • Very environmentally friendly – if you are concerned about your carbon footprint, a solar water can help to greatly reduce yours.

Solar hot water heaters require specialists for installation, repair, maintenance and replacement, so if you are ready to install one in your New Hampshire home, call the people you can trust: HB Energy Solutions.

How Do Solar Water Heaters Work?

Monday, July 21st, 2014

Solar energy is a rapidly expanding field that offers the potential to use a renewable and clean source of power to run every appliance inside a home. But if you feel a bit intimidated at the prospect of an immense overhaul of your house and power system to accommodate solar power, you can always start smaller and build from there. A good place to start: installing a solar water heater.

As we’ll explain, solar water heaters are simple devices that do not require large-scale installation jobs or immense upfront costs. If you schedule an appointment with HB Energy Solutions, we can show you how easy it is to fit homes in New Hampshire with solar water heaters… and we think you’ll find the prospect of using the free energy of the sun so enticing that you’ll want to expand solar power to more of your daily life.

Solar water heaters: the basics

As with most solar-powered systems, solar water heaters use a solar collector mounted on the roof that picks up the radiant energy of the sun. With active solar water heat systems, a pump moves water or a heat transfer fluid through the collector where it gains the sun’s heat.

Active solar water heaters come in two types: direct circulation systems and indirect circulation systems. In general, we recommend the indirect systems for installation in New Hampshire because direct circulation systems can have difficulty in sub-zero temperatures.

With indirect circulation systems, the water does not circulate though the collector itself to receive heat energy. Instead, a pump sends a heat-transfer fluid through the collectors to gain energy. This fluid is designed not to freeze in low temperatures. The heated fluid then runs through a heat exchanger within a water tank, and this heats up the water stored there.

A ­passive solar water heater does not use a pump, but instead relies on the natural rise of water as it heats and the sinking of colder water. These systems are less expensive, but tend to be less efficient as well.

Rely on professional installers to determine which of the various systems listed above will provide you with the best supply of hot water at maximum efficiency.

Solar powered water heaters in New Hampshire make a fantastic gateway to the use of the power of the sun to run a home.

Our team at HB Energy Solutions is committed to helping you with sustainable options for energy that will not only help save money, but help protect the environment at the same time.

Springfield VT Heating Guide: Heating Water with Solar Energy

Monday, October 8th, 2012

We have put together a list of considerations that you may want to think about as you begin to consider installing a solar water heater in your Springfield VT home.

Solar Water Heaters: The Basics

A solar water heater involves several basic parts: a panel of solar cells to collect heat, a tank of water and a series of coils that transfer the energy from the solar panel to the water. The coils carry a heat transfer liquid, similar to Freon, through the solar panel (solar collector) where it absorbs heat energy from the sun. A pump moves the fluid out of the collector into a series of coils that are inside a water tank. The coils release the heat into the cooler water. The newly heated water rises to the top of the tank where it is pumped into the house.

The Benefits of Solar Water Heaters

One of the obvious benefits of installing a solar water heater is that it can save you money on your utility bills. By using the sun to heat your water instead of paying for the gas or electricity to heat it, you can lower your utility bills. Many people recoup the initial cost of purchase and installation within 10 years. Another benefit of solar water heating is that you can still get hot water if the power goes out (assuming you have an electric water heater). This kind of energy independence is a motivating factor for some families. Lastly, you are no longer vulnerable to energy price fluctuations. No matter the cost of gas or electricity, the price for heating your water will remain steady.

Disadvantages of Solar Water Heaters

Unless you decide to go the do-it-yourself route, the initial investment in a solar hot water heater can be fairly costly. But for a system as important as your hot water, it is worth it to have a professional install the system for you to make sure that everything operates as it should and that you are getting the most cost savings possible. Also, because solar systems need sunlight to work, homes in colder or overcast climates may not experience as much efficiency as they would like. In snowy environments, the solar panels can end up covered in snow. Finally, some solar heaters take longer to heat up the water because they begin to operate when the faucet is turned on.

If you’re interested in learning more about solar water heaters and if they are a good fit for your home in Springfield VT, then call the solar professionals at HB Energy Solutions.