Has anyone designed and put in their own Solar Hot Water System ?

[RVlover]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

This is a closed loop glycol system (we live - high desert Oregon - where the record low is around zero and we get snow and ice every winter), so the water never circulates through the panel. The panels sit about 3' above the storage tanks and the total copper piping loop is about 90' of pipe (our house is built into a hill, so the panels hang off the second floor deck and the storage tank, water heater and radiant floor manifold are on the first floor).

Since the system is closed loop, the inlet temp is whatever the temp of the water in the (highly insulated) storage tank is. There is some heat loss between the collector outlet and the storage tank, but it's not high. We used a special pipe insulation from Johns Manville for all of the piping. The gycol system is pressurized to about 35 psi. The pump switches on when the temp in the collector (differential temp controller) is 15 degrees or more hotter than the temp in the tank - otherwise you'd cool the water in the storage tank on a cloudy cold day.

The system specs (well, as much as they'll publicize):
http://shop.solardirect.com/pdf/wate...t_transfer.pdf

Thanks, ill look at the specs. If youre Solar system is giving you 120 gallons of 160 f. storage tank water temp. when the sun is out, the fluid coming out of the collectors must be extremely hot as it enters the heat exchanger of the closed system. Pretty efficient system .

[rlchurch]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

This is a closed loop glycol system (we live - high desert Oregon - where the record low is around zero and we get snow and ice every winter), so the water never circulates through the panel. The panels sit about 3' above the storage tanks and the total copper piping loop is about 90' of pipe (our house is built into a hill, so the panels hang off the second floor deck and the storage tank, water heater and radiant floor manifold are on the first floor).

Since the system is closed loop, the inlet temp is whatever the temp of the water in the (highly insulated) storage tank is. There is some heat loss between the collector outlet and the storage tank, but it's not high. We used a special pipe insulation from Johns Manville for all of the piping. The gycol system is pressurized to about 35 psi. The pump switches on when the temp in the collector (differential temp controller) is 15 degrees or more hotter than the temp in the tank - otherwise you'd cool the water in the storage tank on a cloudy cold day.

The system specs (well, as much as they'll publicize):
http://shop.solardirect.com/pdf/wate...t_transfer.pdf

PNW why do you pressurize the glycol loop? Is there some concern with boiling in the collector?

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by rlchurch

PNW why do you pressurize the glycol loop? Is there some concern with boiling in the collector?

Yes, boiling is a concern (although this special brand of glycol boils at around 320F) but so is pump cavitation.