Solar Thermal Hot Water
Domestic Hot Water Heating

What is a Solar Thermal Hot Water System?

The Latin word for the Sun is solaris. Solar means “relating to or determined by the sun and its rays”.
Thermal means “relating to heat” (therme is heat in Greek).
Solar Thermal is the process of converting Sun radiation into heat. It is a natural process as evident by touching the ground or a building wall in a hot shiny summer day. As of the early years of the twentieth century, clever and efficient ways were developed to heat up water and air using the sun radiation. Solar thermal is the most commonly installed form of solar energy used at present. The other way to harness the sun is to convert the rays directly into electricity, by using the photovoltaic effect.

Components of Solar Heating Water Systems

There are two main components for domestic direct hot water systems:

1. Solar collectors (solar panels) usually mounted on the roof they collect heat from the sun’s radiation (green house effect)
2. A hot water tank stores hot water for the household use

For regions that might reach temperatures below the water freezing point (32 degrees F, 0 degrees C) heat exchange is used and the system is called indirect

There are different types of solar heating water systems for home use as well as swimming pool solar water heater

click for details on solar water heaters

To move from the solar thermal hot water page to the Solar Home Page click here