Active Solar Water Heating Systems Are The Most Economical Options
There is perhaps no more economical as well as cost beneficial way to make use of renewable technology than by opting to use an active solar water heating system. Such a system will help in significantly bringing down the need to use traditional water heating systems and does so by about as much as two-thirds. In addition, an active solar water heating system will cut your electricity or fossil fuel bills and more importantly will improve the environment by cutting out pollution.
Electric Pumps, And Collectors
An active solar water heating system relies mainly on electric pumps that along with collectors that circulate water or other fluids and together these two components round off the main components of the system. As a matter of fact, there are also three distinct types of active solar water heating systems that are worth knowing more about.
The first type of active solar water heating system is the one known as direct-circulation system in which a pump circulates pressurized as well as potable water straight through collectors. Such types of systems are well suited for use in areas where there is little or no freezing and where the water is not hard or even acidic. However, such active solar water heating systems have not been given approval by Solar Rating & Certification Corporation, especially in case such systems also employ protection from recirculation freeze which requires use of electricity in order to ensure that the protection is effective.
The other type of active solar water heating system is the indirect circulation systems which are further classified as antifreeze and drainback systems. The antifreeze indirect active solar water heating system uses a mixture of glycol and water whereas the drainback indirect active solar water heating system makes use of pumps to circulate water through collectors and which also means that water in collectors loop drains back into reservoir tanks whenever the pump stops working.
The drainback indirect active solar water heating system is best suited in places where the climate is especially cold though such a system does also require to be installed very carefully to ensure that the piping is made to slope in a downward direction at all times so as to allow the water to completely drain out from the pipes. This however is not all that easily achievable.
An active solar heating system is a practical solution to keeping a home or building warm and in fact, typically such systems are used to provide between forty and eighty percent of heating needs of a home. Systems that provide less than forty percent of the heating requirements are not cost effective and so must be avoided as much as possible.