In recent years, solar water heating systems have become very popular, but many homeowners are still unaware of the benefits they can offer. There are several reasons why this is the case, but the main one is that most people do not know how easy it is to install these systems and how they actually work? There are many types of solar water heating systems, but two types are very common;

Active and Passive. Both Active and Passive have circulating pumps and controllers, but Active does not.

Active Solar Water Heating Systems

There are two types of active solar water heating systems:

There are two forms of systems that use active solar water heating:

Direct Circulation Systems

Water pumps circulate household water through the collectors and into the home. They arespecially useful in places where temperatures don’t dip below freezing.

Indirect Circulation Systems

Heaters circulate a heat transfer fluid through the collectors and a heat exchanger. A radiator heats the water that then flows into the home. They’re popular in colder climates where freezing temperatures are common.

Passive Solar Water Heating Systems

While passive solar water heating is typically less expensive than active systems, it’s usually not as efficient. Either type of system can be more reliable and can last longer.

There are two main forms of passive systems:

Integral Collector-Storage Passive Systems

Water storage tanks are heated with solar panels. When sunlight hits the solar panels, it heats up the water, and this warm water flows through pipes and into the building’s plumbing. These work best in areas where the temperature rarely drops below freezing. All of them will also work well in homes with significant daily daytime and evening hot water needs.

 
Thermosyphon Systems

Heated water is collected in a tank on the roof. When the hot water faucet is opened, the water flows through the plumbing system. These systems typically have a forty-gallon capacity.

Storage Tanks and Solar Collectors

Solar water heaters work well when a storage tank is well insulated. A solar-storage tank has an additional outlet and inlet connected to and from the collector. Two-tank systems use solar energy to heat the water first and then transfer the hot water to the conventional water heater. In one-tank systems, the backup heater and solar storage are melded into a single tank.

For residential uses, there are three different kinds of solar collectors:

Glazed Flat-Plate Collector

Flat-plate collectors are made of insulated, weatherproof boxes that contain a dark absorber plate under one or more glass or plastic (polymer) covers.

Solar pool heating collectors or unglazed flat plate collectors have dark absorber plates, usually made of metal or polymer. They are designed to keep the sun’s energy within the collector.

Integral Collector-Storage Systems (“ICS or batch systems”)

Batch systems feature a large or small number of black tanks or tubes and are often placed in insulated, Cold water first goes through the solar collector, which preheats the water. The water then goes to the conventional backup water heater, which provides hot water. They can be installed only in mild-freeze climates because outdoor pipes might freeze in severely cold weather.

Evacuated-Tube Solar Collectors

It features parallel rows of transparent glass tubes. Each tube has a metal absorber tube attached to a fin and an outer glass tube. The fin’s coating prevents sun damage by absorbing solar radiation but does not prevent heat loss The collectors used for U.S. commercial applications are usually more frequent.

A solar water heating system is almost always dependent upon a backup system for cloudy days and times of increased demand. Conventional storage water heaters are usually included as part of the solar system package. They may even have a backup capacity in case you need it. A backup system may also be a part of the solar collector, such as rooftop tanks with thermosyphon systems. An integral collector stores both hot and cold water within it. It could be packaged with a tankless or demand type of water heater to allow for backup.