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Solar water heating systems have a good economic payoff, and are manageable systems to install and maintain. Some of the solar water heating designs are simple and low cost.
Some of the information below is for simple homemade batch style solar hot water heaters that make a simple, low cost DIY project. In cold climates, these batch heaters will need to be drained during the cold winter months, but still provide large savings during the rest of the year. Alternatively, a closed loop or drainback system can be operated year round in cold climates. These systems are a more ambitious projects, but still within the skill level of many DIYers.
Directory for this page:
See the Space Heating page of information on Thermal Storage ...
If ya wanna be a solar pioneer, take a look at the Experimental section as well.
!!NEW!! -- download the full content of a great book on solar batch water heaters!
|
|
Hands-on Basics The Home Power and FSEC articles listed below are the best way I have found to get up to speed with building a solar hot water heater. They are very well done, and very hands-on. |
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|
Solar Site Survey ...
|
 Before
you embark on any of the solar projects listed below, you MUST do a solar
site survey.This will ensure that you actually get enough sun on your collector to make it worthwhile. It only takes an hour, its fun, its easy and you will learn something about how the sun moves. Solar Site Survey... |
| Solar Hot
Water: A Primer, Ken Olson for the Arizona Solar Center www.azsolarcenter.com/technology/solarh20.html
|
 This
is a basic introduction to solar water heating, and provides a description
of different types of systems and their pros and cons. A good place to
start.See the entries below for more details on each type of system, and for systems you can build yourself. If the number of types of systems Ken describes seems a bit overwhelming, then concentrate on 1) batch systems, 2) drain back systems, 3) closed loop systems, and 4) thermosyphon systems -- these are the most common and robust. Some additional considerations if you want to build your own system... |
| Solar Hot Water Basics --
Simplified Hot Water, John Patterson http://www.homepower.com/basics/hotwater/
|
 Overview
of Solar Water HeatingA good article explaining the various types of solar water heating systems with an the components that make them up. Once you have narrowed in on the type of system for you, you can get more detailed information on what's involved in building one from the articles below. |
|
Solar Thermal Resources Florida Solar Education Center FSEC Solar Thermal Resources Page (very
good): FSEC's main page on solar water heating |
 The
Solar Thermal Manual provides a good description of the various types of
solar water heating systems, as well detailed sections on installation and
troubleshooting -- lots of detailed how-to. Very useful.Also, good Installation Pictorials for the entire solar water heating installation. |
| A Solar Hot Water Primer Ken Olson This article is currently available as a free download from the Arizona Solar Center here How to get articles from Home Power ... Search for Issue 84 |
 Overview
of Solar Water HeatingHome Power magazine article, issue 84 A very
good overview of the types of solar domestic hot water heating system that
are available. Pro and cons of each. Some system sizing and installation
information. |
| SDHW Installation Basics -- Part 3:
Drainback System Chuck Marken and Ken Olson How
to get articles from Home Power ... |
 Drainback
SystemsHome Power magazine article, issue 97 Very Good description of the ins and outs of the drainback style solar hot water heating system. Good hands-on detail. |
| Solar Hot Water for Cold Climates,
Parts I and II Ken Olsen and Tom Lane |
 Closed
Loop SystemsHome Power magazine articles, issues 85 and 86 Very good articles on selecting the components for a closed loop solar hot water heating system (suitable for cold climates). Lots on installation detail. Covers closed loop antifreeze systems and drainback systems. |
| Installation Basics for Solar
Domestic Water Heating Systems, Chuck Marken and Ken Olsen
How
to get articles from Home Power ... |
 Installing
SystemsHome Power magazine article, issue 94 and 95 Good two part article on how to install the components of a closed loop solar domestic water heating system. Lots of construction detail -- no prior knowledge assumed. Very good explanation on how to put together and install a closed loop solar hot water system. Very detailed. |
|
Build and Integral Passive Solar Water Heater David Bainbridge
|
 Mother
Earth News Article, Issue 85 Jan/Feb 1984A primer on building passive solar water heaters that integrate collection and storage in one package – sometimes called batch heaters. A good overview, and just enough detail to be useful. David is also the author of "The Integral Passive Solar Water Heater Book", which is good, but hard to find -- Thanks to David, its a free download below. |
|
Solar Water Heating Calculator http://www.infinitepower.org/calc_waterheating.htm
|
 This
is a good solar water heater calculator from InfinitePower.orgIt
calculates what you are spending on heating water as a function of water
heater type, fuel type, usage, ... |
|
Get Into Hot Water -- Home Power's 2008 Solar
Thermal Collector Guide, Check Marken with Doug Puffer |
 Good
review of all SRCC certified flat plate and evacuated tube collectors.
A rundown on construction and SRCC performance is provided for each collector. Good discussion on flat plate vs evacuated tube features and efficiency. Other related info: SRCC ratings info ... Our collector performance calculator ... Suppliers ... |
|
B2E Expansion Tank Calculator http://www.b2epc.com/software/tank.shtml
|
A calculator you can used to size the expansion tank on your solar water heating system. |
|
Empirical Investigations of Solar Water Heating Technology Dennis Scanlin |
 Home
Power Magazine article, issue 58Appalachian State University does side by side comparisons of several types of solar water heating systems. Good comparison data for several types of systems. |
|
Batch Water Heaters Batch solar water heating systems are very simple. Easy to build and easy to maintain. Good Do-It-Yourself projects. These systems must be drained during the winter in cold climates to prevent freezing. |
|
| The Integral Passive Solar Water
Heater Book, David Bainbridge
This book is out of print, and difficult to get, but David Bainbridge has agreed to make it a free download.
|
 This
is a really fine book on all aspects of designing and building a wide
variety of solar batch water heaters.The book has a great mix of how-to and engineering design information -- great for builders and experimenters. Thanks to David, the full content of the book is available here as a free download. |
| By Example Batch Water Heater www.byexample.com/projects/current/batch_collector/
|
 This
is a pretty detailed story on the building process for a homemade batch hot water
heater. I think one of the most valuable things is it passes on some things NOT to do -- things they tried that failed. |
| Solar Oregon
Its the "Batch Water Heater Plans" link If the link does not work, search the SolarOregon site for "Batch"
|
 Detailed plans and performance data for a
simple Do-It-Yourself batch solar water heater. |
| Rodale Batch Water Heater |
 Very good write up and plans for a batch water
heater. This one even looks nice. Good how-to detail.
|
| Florida Batch Water Heater Rovert Owens How to get articles from
Home Power ..
|
 Home Power magazine article, issue 93Good description of installing a commercial solar batch water heating system. Good detail on installation process and experiences with the batch heater. |
| Maine Solar
Primer Batch Water Heater Maine Solar Primer |
 A simple
homemade solar batch water heater
design suitable for summer use in a cold climate, or year round use in a
warm climate.Courtesy of the Maine Solar Energy Association. |
| Batch Water Heater Using Stock Tank as Enclosure |
 This
is a nice simple batch water heater design from Ron that uses a galvanized
stock tank as the outer enclosure. It also includes a movable reflector that increases solar gain without increasing heat losses. |
| Getting
the Tank for a Batch Heater and Preparing It ...
|
 It
can be difficult to find a good tank for a batch heater -- here are some
ways to find one, and to prepare it for use....
|
| Simple Solar Water Heater for
Developing Countries A. Jagadeesh |
 Home Power Magazine article, issue 76Description of a very simple non-pressurized batch water heater intended for developing countries. Might be good for a cabin application. |
| Construction and Installation of a
batch-type homemade solar water heater -- An inexpensive, Durable System http://solarcooking.org/bkerr/SWHeaterRev-1d.pdf
|
 Pretty
much just what the title says. Simple, cheap, durable, homemade. |
| Non-Pressurized $70 Batch Water
Heater
Build Your Own Solar Batch Water Heater
|
 This
is a plan from the FSEC for a VERY simple batch water heater made from a 50
gallon barrel. It cannot be pressurized. You fill it from
something like a garden hose, and use gravity feed to use the water.
A system of similar, but lighter, construction might be mounted on the roof of a house/cabin to supply gravity feed hot water. Similar to the "pillow" systems in this book. Can't beat the price! |
| Beer Bottle Solar Water Heater, Ma Yanjun www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2360667.html
|
 An
unusual approach!I guess you work with what's available. |
| A Solar Water
Heater Made of PET Bottles
Update: Instructional Manual:
|
 An
interesting solar water heater design made from PET bottles. It looks
like plastic(?) pipes run up the center of each row of PET bottles.
The PET bottles (I think) act as glazing, and also hold reflectors made from
beverage cartons(?)The Instructional Manual has a lot of good pictures
that make it fairly clear how it goes together. (Thanks to Cameron and Tom for providing more info on this.) |
|
Commercial Versions of Batch Water Heaters These commercial versions of batch (ICS) solar water heaters would make a fairly straightforward DIY installation project with their simple plumbing, no pumps, no controllers, and no heat exchangers to worry about. There are other brands out there if you search around a bit. |
|
| CopperHeart Batch Collector |
 A commercial version of a batch solar water
heater. Some useful downloads.There are several other manufacturers of batch systems -- installation of one of these systems is a good DIY project. |
|
SunCache Solar Water Heating -- Harpiris Energy
Detailed information and manuals for SunCache:
SRCC OG-300 certification results for CA zone 3:
This design was developed by the Davis Energy Group in an effort to lower the price of solar water heaters. The unique design allows more use of plastics resulting in a lighter and less expensive design. |
 This
is a soon to be commercially available, low cost, Integral Collector/Storage
solar water heater.The retail price for DIY installations is estimated to be $2200. The
collector has been SRCC certified, and will qualify for incentive programs
that require SRCC certification. There is a CARB program that CA
residents may want to check on. Note that the freeze tolerant temperature for this collector is listed as 20F, so it is not intended for cold climates. The testing indicates a savings for about 75 therms of NG per year for a family of 4. |
|
Thermosyphon Water Heaters Thermosyphon use the fact that heated water becomes less dense and rises to power the water circulation through the collector. No pump or controller is required. The storage tank must be above collector. |
|
|
How to Build and Install Your Own Thermosyphon Solar Water Heater Perry A. Bocci |
 Home
Power Magazine article, issue 58Very complete design and construction detail for building a thermosyphon solar water heater. Includes building the collector panel, enclosure, plumbing… Only mystery is how did he bond the copper pipes to the corrugated metal absorber? |
|
Solarhart Thermosyphon Water Heaters Website
|
 Solarhart
is a major manufacturer of thermosyphon water heating systems. They
provide a lot of information on their site that would be helpful to a person
who wants to build a thermosyphon system. |
|
Doug's Thermosyphon Solar
Water Heater ...
|
 A
description of Doug Kalmer's homemade thermosyphon solar water heater.A very simple and inexpensive setup.
See all of Doug's solar projects ... |
|
A Solar Water Heater That Has Stood the Test of Time, Lindsey Roke Full Details (pdf)
|
An interesting thermosyphon solar water heater from New Zealand. Built
in the 60's, it has a long track record of good service. The article refers to
SILFOSSING -- this is: |
|
Imported Thermosyphon Solar Water Heaters One example:
|
 There
appear to be a number of these imported thermosyphon water
heaters with integrated storage tanks appearing for reasonable prices.
This may prove to be a good option for cost effective solar water heating.If you have one of these, and could share your experiences, please let me know. Gary... |
|
Closed Loop and Drainback Solar Water
Heaters Drainback and closed loop systems provide freeze protection for year round operation in cold climates. They are more complex, but within the capability of many DIYers. Some of the articles listed below on closed loop and drainback systems are sufficiently detailed to use as plans to assemble a system from components (collectors, pumps, ...) that you purchase from suppliers. See the information below and in the Suppliers section for some potential sources. |
|
| Installing My Solar Domestic Hot
Water Heating System, Guy Marsden
http://www.arttec.net/SolarDHW/index.htm
|
 This
is a really excellent blog style article on installing a solar water heating
system that uses the Butler "Solar Wand" heat exchanger. Lots of good pictures and details on the whole process. |
| Solar Hot Water Homebrew Style How to get articles from Home Power ... |
 Home
Power magazine article, issue 88Great article on designing, building and installing a drainback solar water heating system for less than $800. Good hands-on. |
| Solar Water Heating in Iowa Roy Tonnessen How to get articles from Home Power ... |
 Home
Power magazine article, issue 91Article describes an homemade closed loop, flat plate collector system for heating domestic hot water. Total system cost only $900 with some salvaged parts. Good detail. |
| Maine
Solar Primer Closed Loop Water Heater Maine Solar Primer, Richard Komp |
 Plans
for a closed loop water heater suitable for year round use on cold climates.Courtesy of the Maine Solar Energy Association |
| Large Drainback System for 16 Unit
Appartment Full Details... |
 A
really nicely done large drainback domestic water heating system that serves
a 16 unit apartment building in Philadelphia.
|
|
Doug's Solar Water Heating system ...
|
 A
detailed description and track record of the PV pumped solar water heating
system that Doug built some 17 years ago. Still going strong! And, a 2nd PV powered system built for a
friend. |
| Kris's Collector Kris's Collector Pictures/Plans
Nice sequence on making the collectors ...
|
  Kris
provides an extensive set of pictures of the solar water heating
collectors and heat exchangers he is making. I doubt that most of us
will ever achieve the high level of workmanship that Kris does, but there is
much to learn from these picture plans. Beautiful work. |
| Solar Wand -- Hot Water Assist for
Cold Climates Barry Butler How
to get articles from Home Power ...
Butler website -- good installation and design info: http://www.butlersunsolutions.com/index.html
|
 Home
Power magazine, issue 104Describes a solar water heating system that uses only one conventional water tank. The innovative heat exchanger fits through one of the water tank plumbing connections. This system sacrifices some efficiency for a more compact system with fewer components -- this might well be a good trade depending on your situation. The article covers another innovative Butler product that prevents solar collectors from overheating. The Butler web site has pictures of several DIY installations, and the Documentation tab has full install and maintenance manuals for download. |
| Solarhot USA -- Solar hot water
|
 The SolVelox packages everything needed for a
solar water heating system into one unit, including pumps, heat
exchanger, and valves. Add collectors and some connecting plumbing, and you have the full system. The system can be used to add solar water heating to your existing hot water tank, or can utilize a separate solar water storage tank -- the first option saves the cost of a solar storage tank, and the 2nd offers more efficiency. |
| ATON Flat Plate Collector
http://www.imaginationsolar.com/index.shtml
|
 This
collectors glazing and sides are a 1 piece molded Polycarbonate pan -- seems
like a good idea. Probably not available in the US. |
|
A Homemade “Factory” Solar Collector Mother Earth News
|
 Mother
Earth News Article, Issue 93 May/June 1985A fairly hands-on article on building a solar collector using water at the heat transfer medium. |
|
JC Solar Homes and Solar Collectors
|
 John
Canivan's book $30 "How to Build a Solar Hot Water System" has plans for
building a solar water heating collector. I have not reviewed these
plans myself, but they are reported to produce a good product -- and, you
get email help from John!John can also be found at the Solar Heat Yahoo Discussion group. |
|
The $1K Solar Water Heating System The next 3 Entries are for a simple, all climate, drain back solar water heating system I have been developing, and have installed at my place. Objectives for the system are: high performance, easy construction with simple materials, long life, and low maintenance -- all for a price that is about 1/7th of equivalent commercial systems. Quite a bit of prototyping and testing were done to get to a design that (hopefully) achieves these objectives. The design has several unique features, and while I still consider it Experimental, I think it is pretty solid. May 2009 |
|
|
A $1000 solar water heating
Gary
|
 This
is a cut at $1000, all climate, high performance, long life, low
maintenance, and easy to build solar water heating system.It combines one
of the two collector designs just below with a very simple drain back
scheme. The system is unique in that it combines drain back and
storage tanks into a single, large, inexpensive, non-pressurized tank. A unique heat exchanger that is inexpensive and very efficient
is used. |
|
A $5/sqft solar collector using Copper tubing and
Aluminum fins
Gary
This is one of the two collector types that can be used in the $1K system described above. |
The fin to tube thermal connection is similar to the collector above, but copper is used for the tubing instead of PEX. This provides performance within 4% of an all copper collector in an easy to build package. Extensive build, testing, and performance information is provided... |
|
A $4/sqft solar collector using PEX tubing and Aluminum
Fins
Gary This is one of the two collector types that can be used in the $1K system described above. There has been a lot of interest in a collector that uses PEX tubing rather than copper to convey the heat transfer fluid. Here is a cut a collector that does this -- with careful attention to the PEX/fin joint, it can perform surprisingly well. |
 This
is a cut at a solar water heating collector that uses PEX tubing instead of
copper to convey the heat transfer fluid. The fins are aluminum,
and a lot of effort was put into attaining a good thermal bond between the
PEX and aluminum.
Testing
indicates that the collector performs at 84% of and all copper
commercial collector at about 1/7th the price.
Extensive build, testing, and
performance information is provided... |
|
Working DIY examples of the $1K Solar Water
Heating System I've received feedback from a number of people who have built or are building the system described above or variations on it -- I've included some below that provide good pictures and/or writeups. The examples listed below are from people who built a system and documented it. The new things they have tried, and the ways in which they have adapted the system to their circumstances should be very helpful if you are building your own system. Thanks very much to the people who have taken the time to carefully document their systems! |
|
|
Kevin's WAY North Solar Water Heating System
|
Kevin has done a really fine job on his system, and provides a very helpful
write-up. His system is in Northern BC at 55 degrees latitude, a very
challenging location. |
|
Chad's Solar Home Heating System
Note: this is a space heating system that uses the same collector design as the $1K solar water heating system. |
 Chad
uses 6 4X8ft collectors mounted on his shop to heat his home, which is 200
ft away. The collectors are based on these
copper/aluminum collectors with some refinements for Chad's situation.
The collectors pivot to allow the tilt to be adjusted.This is a closed loop system with antifreeze for freeze protection. Details here... |
|
Woodsy's System Full construction details and pictures...
|
 This
is Woodsy's $1K style solar water heating system. It has some inter esting
design changes that might suit your circumstances. The system is doing well heating water for Woodsy's family. |
| Cory's Copper/Alum Collector |
 Some
pictures of Cory's nicely constructed copper/aluminum collector.Cory is using this for pool heating in Edmonton, Alberta. |
|
Evacuated Tube Water heater This system uses evacuated tube collectors. It is a closed loop system, similar to the systems described just above. |
|
|
Evacuated Tube Solar Water Heater from AnotherURL.com http://www.anotherurl.com/therm/solar.htm
|
 Good
detail on a solar water heating system using Thermomax evacuated tube
collectors.Don't miss the extensive set of installation photos. |
| Large Drainback System for 16 Unit
Appartment Full Details... |
A
really nicely done large drainback domestic water heating system that serves
a 16 unit apartment building in Philadelphia.
|
| Performance of Vacuum Tube and Flat
Plate Collectors Concerning Domestic Hot Water Preparation and Room Heating, Trinkl, Zorner, Alt, Stadler, Centre of Excellence for Solar Engineering
Another live, online comparison of side by side flat plate and evacuated
tube collectors... |
 A
paper directly comparing the performance of evacuated tube and flat plate
collectors on the same house and roof exposure.I don't want to get into the never ending which is better battle, but this paper points out an important consideration for some evacuated tube installations. |
| Solar Air Collector Water Heater -- A bit unusual, but may be a good fit for some circumstances. | |
|
Solar Air Heating Systems -- Water Heating, Steve Kornher and Andy Zaugg
Solar Water Heating With An Air Collector (1.2 MB pdf) |
 This
is a somewhat unusual scheme for Do-It-Yourself domestic water heating with a solar air
collector.
This may work out particularly well if you are already building an air
collector for winter space heating, and want to make use of its heat output
in the summer, or if you just like the trouble free operation of air
collectors. |
|
Gray Water
Heat Exchanger Grey water heat exchangers offer a way to recover the heat energy in the hot water that goes down the drain, and use it to help heat water. |
|
| GFX Gray Water Heat Exchanger
DOE Inventions & Innovations report: |
 A well
designed gray water heat exchanger can recover a large fraction of the heat
that would normally go down the drain in your shower, and some other hot
water uses.In a normal shower, you spend a lot of energy heating water from 50F or so up to 110F. It flows out the shower nozzle, over your body, and down the drain taking 95% or so of the energy you just spent heating it. The gray water heat exchanger uses the heat in the drain water to heat the incoming water. |
|
Heat Recovery Units Use waste AC heat to heat water |
|
| Heat Recovery Units -- heating
domestic water with waste heat from AC Potential Suppliers: http://www.turbotecproducts.com/EPspecs.html http://www.trevormartin.com/hru.asp A calculator to estimate saving: Florida Power Description:
|
 These
Heat Recovery Units are heat exchangers. They pick up waste heat from
your Air Conditioner just after the refrigerant is compressed and before it
goes to the condenser. This recovered heat is used to heat water in
your hot water tank. The heat is "free", and also makes your AC run more efficiently. These units may may make sense for people who have long cooling seasons, and run AC a lot. The saving depends on the size of your AC, its efficiency, how much you run it, and the length of your cooling season. They are somewhat less effective for high SEER AC's, so make sure they will work well with your AC. While the yearly saving in water heating costs for these units is likely to be less than a solar water heater, they are also less expensive, and potentially easier to install. (Thanks to Gary M. for suggesting this!) |
|
Heat Pump Water Heaters These are small heat pumps that basically provide a more efficient electric water heater. |
|
| Heat Pump Water Heater A couple
(of many?) suppliers: http://www.nyletherm.com/waterheating.htm http://www.airgenerate.com/products/airtap.html
|
 These
are small heat pumps that can be added to an electric water heater to
increase its efficiency.They also produce some cool air as a byproduct
that may be useful in the summer. |
| Water Heating with Compost | |
|
Several schemes for heating water with compost here...
|
 There
are several schemes that can be used to heat water for domestic or space
heating use are shown at the link to the left.These schemes generally use
a pipe coil embedded in the compost heap, and collect heat that is generated
by the composting process. |
| Heating Water for Animals | |
|
Solar Heated and Insulated Horse Tank - Version 2 Full details - performance and construction ...
|
 Newest
version of the solar heated, well insulated, double glazed horse/stock tank.Full construction step-by-step. |
| Solar Heated and Insulated Stock Tank |
 Very
nicely done insulated and solar heated stock tank. This design uses a galvanized stock tank as a base and builds an insulating and solar heat collecting structure over the tank. |
|
Heated Water Trough for Livestock -- Using the Sun, Steven Fahey, SW Alberta |
 Very
nicely designed and built insulated and solar heated horse watering tank.
Good photos, plans and construction detail. |
|
Bob's Insulated Stock Watering Tank
|
 This
is a fully insulated stock tank with complete how to build it instructions.
The insulation should dramatically reduce, and possibly eliminate any need for a tank heater -- depending on climate. Full details ... |
|
Freedom's Well Insulated and Solar Heated Stock
Tank
This is an actual implementation of the prototype described in the design in the entry just below. |
 A
solar heated and well insulated horse watering tank. It provides 140
gallons of water that is protected from freezing by lots of insulation and a
solar collector that is built into the south wall of the tank.Glazed with very though dual wall polycarbonate. This tank should avoid most of the high electric bills and wasted CO2 emissions that go with electric tank heaters. Full Construction Details... |
|
Experimental DIY Solar Stock Watering Tank
Gary |
 This
is a first cut at a simple insulated stock watering tank that has an integrated solar
collector on the south side to provide heat and prevent freezing.The tank basically a plywood box lined with pond liner, and with a glazed sout side for solar collection.
Details to date ... |
|
All-Weather Concrete Stock Tank, Charles D. Fulhage, University of Missouri Extension http://extension.missouri.edu/...
|
 Freeze
resistant stock tank design from U of M Extension relies on earth berming
and a small trickle of water in very cold weather to prevent freezing. |
| Idea to Reduce Exposed Water
Surface On Stock Tanks
|
From Mark: Thanks to Mark for sending in this idea! |
| Solar electric air bubbler
http://www.solarranch.com/spbubbly.html More PV pool pump info:
|
 This
is a small PV powered air pump that bubbles air up through the water during
the day to bring water up from the bottom of the tank and prevent freezing.
I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has some experience with
this arrangement. |
|
Freeze Protection for Solar-powered Livestock Watering System, National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service http://attra.ncat.org/new_pubs/attra-pub/freeze.html?id=Montana |
Some more suggestions on keeping stock watering tanks ice free in the winter. |
|
Sun Tanks http://www.horsesonly.com/amesco/info.htm
|
 This
is a commercial product to keep water tanks for stock from freezing.Seems
like a build-it-yourself one would be pretty easy? |
| Corbett Waterers
|
 Uses
a combination of insulation and ground heat to keep water line from
freezing. |
|
CANARM Insulated Stock Watering Tanks www.canarm.com/comm/livestock_waters/waterers.html www.canarm.com/agricultural/pdf/dwaterers.pdf
|
 Several
heated stock watering tanks with R15 insulation and float valves to add
water.Said to cut heating expense by 75%. |
| Bar-Bar-A Horse and Cattle Drinker http://www.horsedrinker.com/index.html
|
 Pumps
water out to the waterer when the animal presses a paddle. Water is
drained from bowl to a dry well before it freezes. |
|
Solar Showers -- A fun summer project |
|
| Nice Outdoor Shower http://www.kidsfromkanata.org/~kfk/files/solarshwr.html
|
 A
really well thought out outdoor shower that uses roof collected water.The solar heated pipe coil is gravity feed from rain collection barrels.
(I found this at: http://www.homegrownrevolution.org/ a good site on urban homesteading) |
| Solar Shower |
 This
is a little write-up from a satisfied user of the solar shower. You
put it out in the sun for 3 hours, and get a 5 gallon hot shower. |
| And, yet another solar shower
http://manuka.orcon.net.nz/solarh2o.jpg
|
 A
$10 DIY solar shower from New Zeeland
|
| And, yet another solar shower From PB Floyd and the Slingshot newspaper
|
 A
simple homemade solar shower made from a few lengths of 3 inch ABS plastic pipe. |
| Economy Solar Shower Bob Battagin How
to get articles from Home Power ...
|
 Home
Power Magazine article, issue 43If you are looking for simple, this is it.
Here is an even simpler one -- the hot hose shower. |
| A Portable Solar Water Heater
(Shower), Raymond Meloy, Mother Earth News https://www.motherearthnews.com
|
 Mother
Earth News, Issue 62. S simple homemade shower made from a car inner tube. |
| The Hot Hose Shower A very simple
one:
And another one with more capacity: |
 Schemes to use the hot water from a garden hose or plastic pipe coil left in the sun for a
shower. |
| Adding an Al Fresco Shower, Ron Cascio http://www.deckmagazine.com/article/101.html
|
 These
are plans for building a pretty spiffy outdoor shower. Its not a solar
shower, but I thought the detail on constructing it and dealing with
drainage etc were worthwhile -- converting it to solar is left as an
exercise. Please send pictures if you do. |
|
Components (Tanks, collectors, heat exchangers, ...) See the References->Suppliers section for more |
|
| Heat Exchangers for Solar Water
Heating Chuck Marken How to get articles from Home Power ... |
 Home
Power magazine article, issue 92Good overview of the various types of heat exchangers. Pro and cons of each. Not a lot of sizing information. |
| Heat Exchanger how-to Bert Echt How to get articles from Home Power ... |
Home Power magazine article, issue
97 Very Good description of how to build a pipe inside a pipe style heat exchanger for water/space heating installation. |
| SunEarth |
 Manufacturer
of batch water heaters, collectors for closed loop water heaters, heat
exchangers, absorber plates.... Good technical information
provided. |
| Heliodyne
|
 Supplier
of solar collectors and full packages for water heating, space heating, and
pool heating.
Good technical information. |
| One-Tank SDHW Storage With Electric
Backup Marken and Olsen |
 Home
Power magazine article, issue 96Complete description of how to modify a conventional electric hot water tank so that it can be used as both a solar hot water storage tank and the backup tank. |
| Thermomax Industries | Supplier of evacuated tube collectors. They provide a lot of design and installation data on their "downloads" page Including a DIY installation guide). |
|
|
 A
unique design solar thermal heat storage tank.Some of the features might be incorporated into a tank you build. |
| For larger, homemade hot water storage tanks see the Thermal Storage section on the Space Heating page ... |
 Larger capacity,
non-pressurized tanks to store larger quantities of heat. |
| Heat Dissipater
http://www.apricus-solar.com/html/solar_heat_dissipator.htm
|
 This
Heat Dissipater by Apricus prevents overheating of collectors under summer
conditions of high solar incidence and low demand.There are homemade versions of dissipaters, including ones that look like this, loops of pipe in the ground, hot tubs, ... |
| Soft Copper Coil Heat Exchangers From Kris's website http://users.telenet.be/hagim/zonne_energie/heat exchanger.htm
|
 Some
good pictures on Kris's website showing how to make heat exchanger coils
from soft copper tubing. |
| DIY Heat Exchanger |
 Build
it yourself heat exchangers. Not all double wall-- be careful. |
| See also the suppliers list for collectors and components | Some suppliers include design and installation information on their sites that can be helpful. |
| Collector Glazing Materials | |
|
Comparison of
Solar Collector Glazing Materials... Gary
|
A comparison of glass, corrugated polycarbonate, sheet polycarbonate, and other potential glazing materials for DIY solar collectors. |
| Maintenance and Buying Used Collectors | |
| Secondhand Solar -- Choosing A Good
Used Hot Water Collector Chuck Marken |
 Home
Power Magazine article, issue 112 April 06Good article on how to select and test a used solar water heating collector. Used collectors if in good shape, can have 20 or so years of life left in them. |
| Solar Water Heater System
Maintenance and Repair EERE site
|
Information on Diagnosing solar water heating system problems. |
| Troubleshooting Solar Water Heaters, Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC)
See the Troubleshooting section of this guide:
|
 This is a checklist to go
through if you are having problems with your solar water heating system. |
| GoSolar Repair Guides www.solarexpert.com/Repair.html#anchor13854
|
 Some
helpful troubleshooting information for solar water heating systems. |
This
is a cut at a solar water heating collector that offers a combination of
high performance with a low cost per sqft, and an easy build.