My system consists of the following:
Four 4'x10' used copper thermal panels, purchased from a neighbor who was getting rid of her system
One 3'x8' used copper thermal panel, purchased from a local contractor
Two 4'x8' copper thermal panels, build 20 years earlier by a home owner, but never used
A 4'x4'x4' stainless steel cube that holds two heat exchangers and 480 gallons of water, also called the "thermal mass'
A Grundfos pump to move the water from the cube up to and through the panels
An ARM-based Linux system to control the Grundfos pump, take measurements, and send the data to bedichek.org to be plotted.
A heat exchanger on the roof, to move heat from the water coming out of the panels to the pool water
A heater exchanger in the thermal mass that is built from 60' of 1" copper tubing. This tubing takes city water and heats it for domestic consumption.
A Takagi flash heater to raise the temperature of the water coming from the aforementioned heat exchanger, in the case that the tank is not hot enough to generate hot water that is adequate.
A mixing valve that adds to cold water to the output of the Takagi heater to keep the domestic hot water from being too hot. This can happen if the tank gets to be more than about 130 F, which can happen during the summer.
A heater exchanger in the thermal mass that is built from 50' of 3/4" copper tubing. This is tied into the radiant floor heating system.
A Grundfos pump to move water through the aforementioned heat exchanger and the floors.
The computer will turn on the solar pump.
Here is a description of the prototype solar hot water system I built and operated in 2007
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Last updated July 28, 2007. For more information, contact robert-pool@bedichek.org