It is estimated that the normal family home spends a lot of money on hot water " or rather the fuel that is required to heat water. This has traditionally been done by utility companies that use coal or other fossil fuels (or even nuclear power) to power a hot water element or boiler in your home. There are various methods and devices that make this system as efficient as possible but the bottom line is that fossil fuels are getting harder to find and will get harder to find in the future. Consequently the costs are rising and will continue to rise. Alternatives are being looked for by utility companies, governments and the individual consumer. One alternative is to use solar power to heat your water. This article will discuss how a solar power water boiler works and how it could be the alternative to high energy bills whilst being an environmentally friendly option too.
Using the sun to heat water has been used for thousands of years. It is still one of the more popular ways to use solar energy even today and the basic principle remains the same. It is simply a matter of placing water in a location where it can be exposed to the suns thermal rays. There are two common approaches to doing this. They are called the flat plate collector and batch collector systems.
Flat plate collectors are simply a series of pipes that are placed in a part of the home where there is direct sunlight (generally a south facing roof). Water is passed through the pipes and is heated by the sun in the process. The pipes are designed to take maximum advantage of the thermal heat.
A batch collector system is a plain old water tank with a few modifications to, again, utilize the sun's energy to the maximum affect. The tank will be placed in a spot that gets plenty of direct contact with the sun.
The water supplied by either of these systems can then be used in the regular plumbing system of the house where it can be used for everyday usage such as showers, washing up the dishes and cooking. Even though the home will still be connected to the electricity or gas that normally heats the water, the solar heated water will require a lot less energy to heat it than ordinary cooler water. This will help to save on energy bills.
The cost of purchasing and installing one of these systems is still fairly expensive depending on the size of system that you require. However once the system is installed, the running costs are virtually nil and the system itself will last up to 25 years. When you factor this into the buying equation you will find that you may have paid off the initial cost within 5 years. The rest of the time you will be saving money on your energy bills. This can really add up over a 20 year period.
Using the sun to heat water has been used for thousands of years. It is still one of the more popular ways to use solar energy even today and the basic principle remains the same. It is simply a matter of placing water in a location where it can be exposed to the suns thermal rays. There are two common approaches to doing this. They are called the flat plate collector and batch collector systems.
Flat plate collectors are simply a series of pipes that are placed in a part of the home where there is direct sunlight (generally a south facing roof). Water is passed through the pipes and is heated by the sun in the process. The pipes are designed to take maximum advantage of the thermal heat.
A batch collector system is a plain old water tank with a few modifications to, again, utilize the sun's energy to the maximum affect. The tank will be placed in a spot that gets plenty of direct contact with the sun.
The water supplied by either of these systems can then be used in the regular plumbing system of the house where it can be used for everyday usage such as showers, washing up the dishes and cooking. Even though the home will still be connected to the electricity or gas that normally heats the water, the solar heated water will require a lot less energy to heat it than ordinary cooler water. This will help to save on energy bills.
The cost of purchasing and installing one of these systems is still fairly expensive depending on the size of system that you require. However once the system is installed, the running costs are virtually nil and the system itself will last up to 25 years. When you factor this into the buying equation you will find that you may have paid off the initial cost within 5 years. The rest of the time you will be saving money on your energy bills. This can really add up over a 20 year period.
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Get more information on solar power water heaters visit www.solarpowerappliances.com. You will also find solar pool heating systems and solar garden lighting.
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