Solar Thermal Systems FAQs
05Apr
05Apr
What can I do with excess energy in the summer?
Three choices- Steam, Drain or Dump. For most places in the US, there will be more solar gain in the summer than in the winter. This occurs during a time when your load is lowest, so that means EXCESS HEAT. You must deal with this...
05Apr
How long does it usually take to install a typical Solar Hot Water System?
Well, 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...
04Apr
How long does it usually take to install a prepackaged DHW kit?
Well, 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...
04Apr
Do I need any experience in electricity to install a solar water heater?
No, you do not. In fact, if you purchase a pre-packaged kit from Sunmaxx, the pump station (which is has the controller and pump built in) simply has a 3-prong plug that you insert right into a 110v wall outlet. The only thing that you...
04Apr
How do I know if my system is performing the way it should be?
First of all, your system performance will be measured by BTU'S produced, NOT by temperature achieved. The simplest way to accomplish this is by following this method: 1- Record your solar tank temperature first thing in the morning, before the solar pump turns on. 2- be sure...
04Apr
How do I size a solar hot water system for my household?
Typically, an american average consumption of 20 gallons of hot water per day per person can be used to size systems. There are some variations in that however so we need to be careful about just using rules of thumb. For most of the Sunmaxx...
01Apr
Can I tie a solar thermal system into my existing system?
Yes, you sure can. There are very few systems in the US that will not accept a solar thermal upgrade, The only exception would be a steam system. Whether you have forced hot air, boiler with baseboard, sub-floor radiant, in-floor radiant or wall heaters you...
01Apr
Simulating Performance of Solar Thermal Systems
Solar thermal systems will behave differently depending on a few variables such as, the obvious, location but also angle of tilt (slope off horizon), orientation angle, temperature of inlet fluid and also daily ambient temperature.We can calculate the efficiency of collectors for various times throughout...
24Feb