Is it possible to melt snow off of my collectors?
avwFm87mDz2011-04-05T11:26:16+00:00Yes it is. Depending on your type of collector, you can program your controller to manually activate the circulator which will bring heat from your storage vessel and into the collectors, which will radiate that heat back out thus melting the snow. This method only works for FLAT PLATES however and will usually take as much energy as it makes. When the sun is out in full force, the rays passing through thge snow are typically enough to create substantial heat that in turn, melts the snow on flat plates. For Evacuated tubes however, there is very little you can do to melt the snow. If your collectors are sitting at a tilt off from the roof pitch, you should be okay because the snow will pass between the tubes onto the roof. But for flush mount EVT systems, snow can and will build up. However, in my experience, this will only affect the output for a day or two. Becuase if the sun is out enough to make any amount of BTU"S then there will be enough heat wasted at the roof/collector interface that begins to melt the snow alowing it to slide down from the top of the tubes. With only minimal exposure to the direct sunlight, the small amount of exposed tube will begin to yield significant amount of BTU's, even though they are mostly covered. So for tubes, dont sweat it, you are not going to lose much unless of course they get covered by a couple feet or so then perhaps you'll want to sweep them off if you can.
How do I know which type of storage tank that I need?
avwFm87mDz2011-04-05T11:18:14+00:00Well, there are really two main options here; pressurized tank or non-pressure tank. The pressure tank will come with heat exchange coils on the inside (2 or 3 depending on style) that will be tied into a closed solar loop and open DHW loop. The additional coil (s) can be used for space heating or auxiliary heating. The drwaback to large pressurized tanks is that they require larger doors when you exceed 200 gallons or so. The Non-pressure tanks are basically custom built, insulated tubs that can be brought in through the smallest of doors and assembled on location to a volume of up to 4000 gallons. With these tanks, the heat exchangers are submersible copper coils typically and designed to specification for each application. Usually, this type of tank is used for home space heating system or for large DHW systems as a pre-heat buffer tank.
How do I know which size of storage tank I need?
avwFm87mDz2011-04-05T10:39:05+00:00There are many answers to this question but it really boils down to this...you need the one that best suits your application, your solar collector field, your budget and your available space. If you use a Heliomaxx kits from Sunmaxx, we have sized the storage vessels relative to the size of the collector field. For sizing, we generally consider first the temperature requirement of the tank. For instance, if you need your solar tank to be a cetain temperature before it ties into your home heating sytem then we would likely reduce the storage capacity but if you are using your tank as a pre-heat system only then we try and maximize the storage. And also we need to consider your budget, because even though a bigger tank give us more solar gain annually, there may not be the payback on that larger tank that justifies the expense. Here are the ratios we typically use for storage relative to solar collector area: 1 gallon per Ft2- high temp loads or in northern climates with flat plates 1.5 gallon per ft2- medium temp loads and typical with most Flat plate installs 2 gallons per Ft2- high temp loads for Evacuated tubes or Low temp for flat plates 2.5 gallons per Ft2- medium temp loads for EVT 3 gallons per ft2- low temp loads 4+ gallons per ft2- sometimes it does make sense but would need to be analyzed based on payback.
How long does it usually take to install a typical Solar Hot Water System?
avwFm87mDz2011-04-05T10:16:04+00:00Well, this all depends on many things. But for an average home with average difficulty level and experienced installer shouldnt take much more than two full days. I have seen some that were installed by two men in one full day and others that take a week. If you are using a pre-packaged system, such as the Heliomaxx Kits from Sunmaxx, they are designed to be assembled and commissioned with the utmost efficiency. A DIY'er can take on an installation by him/herself as long as they are comfortable with a little roofing and some minor plumbing. For homeowners, it is imperative that you use a pre-packaged system.
How long does it usually take to install a prepackaged DHW kit?
avwFm87mDz2011-04-04T17:24:54+00:00Well, that all depends but usually 2 workers can install a simple DHW kit and have it fully commissioned within 3 days. There are some cases where only 2 days is required and some days more. Our Heliomaxx kits are designed for simplicity and we expect that you shouldn't really need more than 48 total hours for a job and could be as low as 32.
Do I have to run the piping through the roof?
avwFm87mDz2011-04-04T17:15:37+00:00No, you do not have to. You can, and should, use flexible stainless steel piping which allows you to direct the piping anywhere you want with very little trouble. Many installers will choose to send the piping the ;ong way around just to avoid a roof penetration. While this works well for ensuring that there is no leakage, it does however waste a bit of solar energy. But if you can avoid going through your roof, then do it! Click here to view our flexible stainless steel piping