Solar Hot Water

Solar Hot Water

Solar Water Heating Our solar powered buildings requires some means of heating water (the second largest energy consumer in the average home). Our domestic hot water is created from three sources. First we have a 50-gallon tank located in the attic space which is passively heated by a hot air panel mounted in the roof. This pre-heats the water in the tank. Summer temperatures in the chamber average 195 degrees with 150-degree average in winter. This pre-heated water minimizes our use of the propane instantaneous hot water heater.

The second means of heating is a water coil in the wood stove. When it is cold enough to have a fire, water is heated and rises into the 50-gallon tank above creating a thermo-syphoning effect. Preheated water from the wood stove or from the solar panel then flows through our propane instantaneous hot water heater, which may or may not have to turn on depending on whether the water flowing into the heater matches our preset temperature setting.