Every day our land illuminates the sun, and this is a huge amount of energy. If you use at least part of it, then hot water will have free, for this you just need to make a sun water heater with your own hands.
Solar collector diagram: 1 - tube with liquid (water, antifreeze), 2 - thermal insulation body, 3 - reflector, 4 - rigidity frame, 5-6 - tanks for cold and hot water.
Using heating tank
The simplest water heating system, which people have been used for many years, is a tank, which is heated by sunlight. Despite the fact that it is an elementary design, it is quite effective and is often used in private homes for the "summer soul".
If this design is equipped with a reservoir where warm water will be stored, its effectiveness will increase significantly.
In order to make a sunny water heater with your own hands, you need to know that the most important item in it will be a heating tank. You can use a metal barrel, but better special plastic tank with a capacity of about 200 liters. It is more convenient, since it is not amenable to corrosion and does not require painting in contrast to a metal structure, it has a small weight and easier to mount it to the roof.
During the day, under the action of sunlight, water in such a tank is heated to 40-45 ºС and there is enough for household needs. But if throughout the day you do not spend all the water, then overnight it cools, and it will not work around it around the clock. In order to minimize heat loss, you can either insulate the tank itself, or collect warm water into a warmed tank.
Solar water heater scheme.
Many people living in private houses use electrical and gas boilers to heat water. It is them that can be used for storage heated during the day of water. Such a solar water heater has a simple design. And consists of a tank, boiler and crane. From the water supply water, water is fed to the tank, after which water flow overlaps. That warm water that has not been used throughout the day, in the evening merges into the boiler and can be used further. If the heating tank is not used, then water from the water pipeline is directly entered into the boiler, the entire process is adjustable using cranes.
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Such a solar water heater has a simple design, but it has two serious drawbacks:
- Every day you have to recruit and merge water from the heating tank;
- Warm water can only be used in those days when sunny weather and air temperature is not less than 20 ºС.
Passive solar water heater
To have the opportunity to get warm water and in cloudy weather, the heating tank must be replaced with a sun collector.
In order to construct such a solar heater, you must first make a collector. So that he worked securely, was easy to assemble and had a low price, it is necessary to choose the key to choose the material for the manufacture of the collector. Thin-walled copper or metal pipes are considered the most reliable material, but they are difficult to mount and they have a lot of weight.
Scheme of passive solar heater.
The manufacturer of a collector of metal-plastic or polypropylene pipes is considered a simpler and more convenient option, but in this case the high probability of leakage occurs due to their damage. If you use an ordinary garden hose, then all these disadvantages disappear, and it remains only to twist it in the form of a spiral. Its flexibility allows you to make a design single, there are no connections, and water is connected directly from the collector to the house.
The easiest solar water heater from the garden hose consists of the hose, window glass, foam for thermal insulation and base. Water heating occurs due to sun rays, which fall through the glass on the hose with water. After the hose is heated, heat from it is reflected by glass and is again used to heat the water. In the summer, the optimal angle of tilt the collector is 35 º, and in the autumn-spring period 40º.
Before starting work from a solar collector, the air is displaced, after it is connected to the boiler. Under the action of the thermosifer effect, water from the boiler flows into the collector. To turn it off, you just need to block the crane.
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The disadvantage of such a design is that periodically need to adjust the water supply to the solar collector.
To calculate such a water heater, it is necessary to take into account that the hose with a diameter of 25 mm at air temperature 25 and clear weather heats up to a temperature of 45 ºС 3.5 liters of water per hour. If the length of the hose is 10 meters, then the hour will be heated with 35 liters of water. In summer, the sun shines, so we get 280 liters of hot water.
You can use such a heater while the air temperature is not below 8 ºС. With negative temperatures, water from the collector needs to merge.
Features of the Solar Collector Design
Scheme of the solar collector device.
Tools and materials that are necessary for work:
- rubber or polyethylene hose, with a diameter of 20 mm;
- Wooden bars to create a frame;
- window glass;
- foam for insulation;
- cranes;
- water tank, boiler;
- clamps;
- saw on a tree;
- screwdriver and wrench;
- glass cutter.
To make a solar water heater, it is better to use a rubber or reinforced hose with a diameter of at least 20 mm and a wall thickness from 2.5 mm. It is necessary to give preference in black or dark hoses.
Water moves due to the thermoside effect, so it is necessary that the boiler is at least 60 cm above the top of the collector. It is necessary to try that the supply pipe has a minimal length.
To reduce heat loss, the rear of the hose is insulated using foam. To fix the hose in the form of a spiral, you need to tie it to a wooden bruster or pipe.
It is necessary to use window glass, film or organic glass in this case are not suitable. From the hose to the glass should be 12-20 mm.
If you plan to use a solar water heater in a warm time, then you need a single glass. If in the cool time, then double glass, in this case, less heat loss, but more reflected solar rays. To reduce heat loss, the holdings of the hose must be isolate. If the length of the pipe is up to 3 m, then it will be enough to use polystropal as thermal insulation, if more, then foil polyurethane foam is used.
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Such a solar water heater will allow in a summer period to save up to 80% of energy consumed to heat hot water, and in the fall and spring to 40%. If you recalculate it in kilowatts, then the savings per person per year will be about 400 kW. * Hour.