A Solar Water Heating System Can Help Cut Your Fuel Bills

One modern day luxury that we often take for granted is the ability to have a hot bath or shower at the flick of a water faucet. If you are like me, a hot shower is a great way to relax after a busy day at work. An even better way to relieve stress is to spend a few hours in a hot bath that has a few drops of relaxing essential oil. Of course it was not always this easy and in many parts of the world is seen as a great luxury. It is estimated that the average home spends more money on heating water than any other energy need. In most homes this is done by using grid electricity to power a water heater.

The down side to this is that grid electricity is powered by fossil fuels that are linked to causing environmental problems and are ultimately finite. What this means is that in time using this method to heat your water is bad for the planet and bad for your wallet. An alternative to this is to use a solar water heating system. This article will explain some of the important parts and how the system works.

One of the first things to consider when thinking about solar power is to make your home more energy efficient. This means using the energy created to the utmost and getting as much energy from the source as possible. In terms of creating hot water this means insulating your hot water tank so that heat is not lost to the environment.

Most tanks have some form of insulation but if your system is old, the insulation might not be the best or may need replacing. You should also look at the one that you use. This may be an old resistive type heater and should be replaced by more modern heaters that can be up to 5 times more efficient at heating water. Heat water pumps are a very efficient way of heating water. These systems can either reduce or eliminate your need for grid powered water heating.

Many people start off with a system that integrates into the existing grid powered system because this provides the least amount of change or disruption to the home. As a person gets more comfortable with the idea of solar power they may move onto total solar powered water heating.

The two types of solar water heating systems are known as flat plate collectors and batch collectors. Flat plate collectors are simply a length of piping that allows liquid to pass through it.

The pipes are located on a surface that comes in contact with the sun. So the roof top is often the most suitable place and also is out of the way so the system is unlikely to be damaged. The pipes in the flat plate collector are painted black on the underside to absorb heat. The side facing the sun often have a glass that helps to absorb and distribute the sunlight to the liquid. Batch collectors are a water tank that is insulated to absorb heat. Thus they will be painted black also.

The water that is heated by these two systems can then be plumbed into the conventional heating system. As the water is already heated the conventional system will use less electricity to heat the water. As your use of solar power evolves you will move to using solar panels to provide the electricity to power the hot water heater. At this stage you will be utilizing the full power of the sun to heat water for your home.

Solar power can be applied to many house and garden products. In recent years the cost of these appliances have become very affordable and saved money on energy bills. Learn more about solar powered appliances at http://www.solarpowerappliances.com - The site has features on solar water heating systems and various solar power related articles. Adrian Whittle writes about using solar power and appliances that can utilize renewable energy sources.

By Adrian Whittle