Unlike the electric solar panels that convert the sun radiant energy into electricity, solar heating panels – a.k.a. solar thermal panels – use the heat energy given by the sun directly to heat up water or air. By doing this way they work more efficiently because there is no change in the term of energy form.
How Solar Heating Panels Work:
The picture above shows an active system utilizing pump to circulate the fluid inside the thermal tubes. No fluids exchange happened between the tubes and the water tank because it is a closed loop system. To power up the pump we can install electric solar panels so the system can work independently on autopilot.
Types of Thermal Collectors
- Formed Plastic Collector
This is the cheapest type you can buy with low efficiency due to poor insulation. The materials are either Polypropylene, EPDM or PET plastics.
- Flat Plate Thermal Collector
This collector consists of a thin absorbing material such as polymers, copper, aluminum or steel to which a black coating is applied, a grid or coil fluid tubing and covered with an insulated casing that has polycarbonate material or glass on top of it. Heat generated inside the casing is then transferred to the insulated water tank by the circulating fluid inside the tubing.
- Evacuated Tube Collector
Evacuated tube collector has a set of modular tubes mounted in parallel. These transparent glass tubes contain an absorber tube inside them which functions the same as the absorber plate in flat plate collector. It works better than the flat plate because cylindrical collector can capture the sun radiant energy from many directions.
Evacuated tube thermal collectors are considered to be amongst the most efficient solar heating panels available in the market but the price is also much higher than the others. They work excellent even in cold season because thermal losses can be minimized.
Whether you want to use flat plate thermal collector or evacuated tube collector, make sure they are placed on the surface or roof facing south for maximum sun exposure. Both types have more than 20 years lifespan with almost zero maintenance. Think about it! They work quietly without fuel and mechanical moving parts and need no maintenance. Nothing can beat them!
the SolarCost admin
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