SOLAR THERMAL BASICS

Essentially, a solar water heating collector is a aluminum black box topped by non-reflective glass enclosing copper plating and tubing that sits on your roof and collects heat from the sun. It uses a vegetable based propylene glycol solution that is pumped through the collector to absorb the heat and transfers it to the 80 gallon water heater storage tank. There is a electric back-up element for cloudy days.

There are two main types of solar water heating systems:

• Active systems contain pumps and controls to regulate the flow and hot water production.
• Passive systems operate without the use of pumps.

Solar Gain designs a range of packaged solar thermal systems for homes. We will recommend a system that takes into consideration your home’s climate and freeze protection needs.

SOLAR POOL HEATING SYSTEM BASICS

A solar pool heating system is composed of black plastic (polypropylene) solar coil panels that are mounted on your roof. When your pool pump cycles daily, it runs the water through the tubing in the panels and collects heat as it passes through, before feeding into your pool.

AN INVESTMENT THAT PAYS FOR ITSELF

A properly designed and installed solar water heating system will perform well for 15-25 years. Over the life of the solar system you will realize an average annual 15% return on investment. A typical residential solar hot water system in Arizona has a 4-6 year payback, and will generate $15,000 to $20,000 positive cash flow over the system’s 25-year life.

A solar pool heating system will add up to 3 months a year to your swim season, and has a typical payback period of 2-4 years. There are several factors that affect the savings realized with a solar pool heating system, including, your climate, the size of the pool, your cost for natural gas, the pool temperature you wish to maintain, whether you use a pool cover, the length of your swimming season, etc.