A solar water heating system absorbs energy from the sun via collector panels on your roof. This energy is transferred into water stored in a hot water cylinder.

On days when there isn’t sufficient sunlight to heat the water to the required temperature, ‘booster’ heating is utilised - typically gas, electricity or a wetback.

The water is heated from a cool temperature of 5-15 º C to a minimum of 60 degrees (the Building Code requires that the water temperature hits 60 degrees at least once a day). For safety reasons the water is mixed with cold water so that it comes out of the taps at 55º C.

Components of a high-output solar water heating system

The main components of a solar hot water heating system are the collector panels, a hot water cylinder and equipment such as pumps and controllers that optimise the energy recovery.

The quality and correct installation of those components can have a significant impact on the overall efficiency of your system and the resulting cost savings and environmental benefit achieved.

Open loop system

Sola60 applies an "Open Loop" system where water is circulated through collector panels and heated directly before being returned to the hot water cylinder and stored until it is required.

An open-loop system eliminates the need for a heat-exchanger, with a heat-transfer fluid circulating through collector panels and then passing the heat to the water in a cylinder. The heat transfer process usually results in a loss of some of the energy gathered from the sun and is therefore less effective than the open-loop systems used by Sola60.  

Collector Panels

Based on 25 years of experience in the industry, Sola60 uses advanced flat-plate technology to capture energy from the sun.

A flat plate panel looks very similar to a skylight and absorbs sunlight and transfers the heat to the water or fluid in the collector panel. A flat plate system typically has a total surface area of between 2.5 and 6 m² - depending on the application and hot water requirements.

Circulation System

The water in a solar water heating system can be circulated using a pump (an active system) or naturally using a method known as thermosiphon (a passive system).

By integrating an active, pumped water circulation system in most Sola60 solutions, the location of the hot water cylinder is not restricted to the roof (as with a passive system) and can be sited at any suitable location inside (or outside) the home.

A highly efficient electric pump is used to circulate water in conjunction with a controller used to ensure that the pump only operates when it is required.

An active system is typically favoured by people who want to make use of an existing hot water cylinder (with associated cost savings) and those who do not want to put a cylinder on the roof for aesthetic and/or structural reasons (a full water cylinder is very heavy!).

Hot Water Cylinders

A hot water cylinder is required to store the water heated by the solar panels until it is required for use.

While Sola60 systems can include specialist solar cylinders, our pumped systems also have the advantage that they can usually be integrated into an existing hot water system and work effectively with a conventional hot water cylinder. This makes a Sola60 system even more cost effective. 

Controllers

A solar water heating system also makes use of controllers, which manage the use of supplementary (booster) gas or electric heating and can be used to control the pump. The controller ensures that you always have hot water, no matter what the weather outside is like.

There are two types of controller: the time trigger controller and the minimum temperature controller.

The time trigger controller keeps the booster heating turned off during the day so that you are not paying for electricity or gas to heat your water when the sun can be used. This type of controller also turns on supplementary heating before periods of high water use, which makes the system more efficient.

A minimum temperature controller simply works by triggering the supplementary heating whenever the water temperature drops below a pre-set minimum.

Frost Protection

To ensure that the water in the collection panels does not freeze, all Sola60 systems in frost prone areas are fitted with frost protection. Temperature sensors turn the pump on to run water through the system and prevents freezing.