Solar power

What is a solar heater?

Definition of solar water heater

It is a solar panel that collects and absorbs sun radiation and converts it to a thermal energy through which the water is heated for all residential and commercial installations. This method of direct heating to the water achieves economical feasibility higher than the solar photovoltaic energy used to produce electricity – in order to heat that water itself – which saves more than 40% of electricity bills Household with costs may be recovered in less than a year and a half.

One of the most common questions that raise controversy is the ability of the solar heater to heat water in the daytime period only while electric heaters work throughout the day, so how does the consumer get his need of hot water in the night time- if he chose the solar water heaters- so the answer to such a question is that the individual’s share in the literary capacity of his stock of hot water is calculated Of water with a spare surplus that is stored inside the thermally insulated solar tank, providing individual hot water needs throughout the day.

Add to that, every solar heater is equipped with an electrical element that works as an emergency alternative if hot water is consumed in the absence of the sun.

Solar heater components

First: Solar collectors

It is divided into two types: –

1- Flat Plate Collectors

  • The solar collector contains parallel lifting pipes of red copper 10-15 mm wear-resistant and high thermal conductivity connected to each other by horizontal copper header pipes.

  • Endothermic surface – red copper or aluminum strips and tubes coated in the blue Selective-Coating with a high absorption coefficient of 93-97% (blue cells).

  • The outer frame of the extruded aluminum sections.

  • Thermal insulation 50 mm thick glass wool.

  • The outer surface of the cell is 4 mm thick low iron oxide glass (for blue cells)

  • Covered with winding thermal glass, not smooth to get the highest level of solar radiation.

  • The solar radiation transmittance coefficient of glass is 95%.

  • All welds are laser, and ultrasonic.

2- Solar Tubes (Vacuum Tubes Collectors)

  • Vacuum tubes: 1800/58 mm.

  • Inside each glass tube is another tube, the outer is a transparent tube and the inner tube has a highly absorbing coating (Selective-Coating) and the air is discharged between the two tubes.

  • In each glass tube there is a copper tube injected with heating fluid implanted inside the stainless steel cases to serve heating the stainless steel cases in the Heat Pipe type.

  • The solar radiation permeability coefficient of the tubes is 95%.

  Second: – Solar water tanks:

They are divided according to the material of manufacture into: –

1- Insulated iron sheet tanks with anti-rust Enamel material.

2- Tanks made of insulated steel with anti-rust stone material.

3- Stainless steel tanks 304L.

4- Stainless steel tanks 316L.