|
Batch or Integral Storage Collectors (ICS) |
| CopperHeart Batch Collector
http://www.sunearthinc.com |
 A commercial version of a batch solar water
heater. Some useful downloads.
There are several other manufacturers of batch systems -- installation of
one of these systems is a good DIY project. |
|
Thermosyphon Water Heaters |
| Solar Hart Thermosyphon Water
Heaters
http://www.solahart.com.au/
|
 A
well known manufacturer of thermosyphon solar water heaters. |
| SunSiphon Thermosiphon Unit
http://www.sunearthinc.com
Install Manual:
www.solardepot.com/pdf/Sunsiphon-Manual.pdf |
 These
thermosyphon water heaters are simple and reliable -- no pumps or
controllers.
|
|
One piece, rotationally molded polyethylene water heater
US:
http://www.solco-usa.com/
Australia:
www.solco.com.au
|
 An
interesting Australian water heating concept that is soon to be available in
the US.
"The system is constructed of UV resistant high density polymer. The
bladder and the tank are constructed in one piece using roto molding
technology, no seams to leak. The secret to the system is that the
pressure inside the tank and the solar bladder is gravity pressure
only. There is a float valve that controls flow into the tank. A
unique interior design promotes thermal siphon action from the tank
through the bladder and back to the tank. The system is designed to
deliver 9 liters a minute under gravity pressure at 15 feet of head. If
the user desires mains pressure than a pump is added on the hot water
line before the tap outlet. In North Carolina the unit generated 165
degree water during the summer and 140 degree water in the winter.
Performance will vary depending on the latitude the unit is located at.
There is an electric 240 v heating element and adjustable
thermostat inside the tank as a back up heat source. The unit also has
a gas back up heat option available. There is a 10 year warranty on the
tank and bladder and a 5 year warranty on the heating element. The
manufacture claims a 20 year or more life of the tank and bladder.
Empty the unit weighs 230 lbs full the unit weighs 900 lbs. The foot
print is 5" 5" x 7' 4".
The design of this system is different from the traditional
thermosyphon water heaters in several respects, so be sure you understand
these differences, and that the unit is suitable for your situation.
|
|
Imported Thermosyphon Solar Water Heaters One example:
www.siliconsolar.com/ ...
|
 There
appear to be a number of these imported thermosyphon water
heaters with integrated storage tank appearing for reasonable prices.
This may prove to be a good option for cost effective solar water heating.
If
you have one of these, and could share your experiences, please let me know. |
Flat Plate Water Heating Solar
Collectors
|
|
SRCC Certified Flat Plate Collectors Manufacturers
List |
| ACR Solar |
www.SolarRoofs.com |
| Alternate energy Technologies |
www.aetsolar.com |
| Conergy |
www.conergy.com |
| EnerWorks Inc. |
www.enerworks.com |
| Genersys |
www.genersys.com |
| Heliodyne |
www.heliodyne.com |
| Marathon International |
www.wallhungboilers.com |
| R & R Solar Supply |
808 842-0011 |
| Radco Procucts |
www.radcosolar.com |
| Schuco USA |
www.schuco-usa.com |
| Sensible Technologies |
www.jtgmuir.com |
| Solahart Industries |
www.solahart.com.au |
| Solar Development |
www.solardev.com |
| Solar Energy |
www.solarenergy.com |
| SolarHot |
www.solarhotusa.com/products/collectors.html |
| Solene |
www.solene-usa.com |
| Stiebel Eltron |
www.stiebel-eltron-usa.com |
| Sun Earth |
www.sunearthinc.com |
| Synergy Solar |
www.synergysolar.com |
| Thermo Dynamics |
www.thermo-dynamics.com |
| Viessmann Manufacturing Company |
www.viessmann-us.com |
|
Additional Flat Plate Water Heating Collector Manufacturers, Sites
and Info |
|
AET Solar Absorber Plates
http://www.thermafin.com/absorbers.shtml
|
 AET solar sells copper solar thermal collector absorbers for any size of collector.
The absorbers are all copper with fins welded to riser tubes, and riser tubes braized to manifolds.
Prices in early 2014 about $9 per sqft.
|
| Sunray
http://www.sunraysolar.com/index.php |
 Supplier of flat plate collectors and absorber
sheets.Cheap! |
|
Solar Energy
http://www.solarenergy.com/
|
A supplier of flat plate collectors and of
absorber sheets. The absorber sheets can be incorporated in a DIY
frame to produce a much less expensive collector without all the labor of
building the absorber sheet. |
|
Alternate Energy Technologies, LLC (AET)
http://www.aetsolar.com/downloads.htm
|
 Solar water heating systems and collectors.
Good construction detail on some of their collector description brochures. |
|
Apricus Heat Disssipator
http://www.apricus-solar.com/html/products_heatdiss.htm |
A device to dissipate excess heat from solar
collectors during the summer. |
|
Stiebel Eltron
http://www.stiebel-eltron-usa.com/sol25.html
|
 Maker
of an SRCC certified 29 sqft collector.
Copper internals with selective coating.
|
| Stiebel Eltron
www.stiebel-eltron-usa.com
One sample US retailer:
http://www.houseneeds.com/shop/atop/solarindex.asp
|
 Manufacturer
of a wide line of solar related products. Collectors, tanks,
pump/control packages, tankless heaters, ... |
|
Schuco
http://www.schuco-usa.com
|
 Maker
of serpentine solar collectors with copper internals. |
|
Solar Developments
http://www.solardev.com/index.html |
Kits for solar water heating and other solar
applications. Not very specific about the details of what's in the
kit. |
Evacuated Tube Water
Heating Solar Collectors
|
|
SRCC Certified Evacuated
Tube Collectors Manufacturers List |
| American Solar Works |
www.americansolarworks.com |
| Apricus Solar |
www.apricus-solar.com |
| Beijing Sunda Solar Energy Technology |
www.sssolar.com |
| BTF |
www.btf.com |
| Oventrop |
www.oventrop-na.com |
| Solargenix Energy |
www.solargenix.com |
| Thermo Tech./Thermomax |
www.solarthermal.com |
| Viessmann Manufacturing Company |
www.viessmann-us.com |
|
Additional Evacuated Tube Water Heating Collector Manufacturers, Sites
and Info |
| Thermomax Industries
www.solarthermal.com/products.asp |
 Supplier of evacuated tubes and systems.
Downloads section has good technical data. |
| Apricus Evacuated Tube Collector
http://www.apricus-solar.com/index.htm
http://www.apricus-solar.com/html/products_ap.htm |
 Apricus
Evacuated Tube Collector.The website has some helpful how-it-works,
design and installation data. |
| Fitch Consulting
www.s101470521.onlinehome.us/6982.htm
Or,
www.WeAreSolar.com |
 Fitch
Consulting is a potentially low price source for evac tube collectors.
Bill now has SRCC certification for his collectors, so systems built with
them will qualify for the 30% federal tax credit. The
site also has lots of interesting solar projects, including a solar home
heating system and a very ambitious solar assisted ground source heat pump
project. |
| Sun Spot Solar -- SUNDA Evacuated
Tube Collectors
http://www.sssolar.com/index.asp
|
 Supplier
of SUNDA evacuated tube collectors. Quite a bit of helpful
information and installation pictures available on the site. |
|
Solar Water Heating Systems |
| Alternate Energy Store
http://store.altenergystore.com
|
 A
wide variety of packaged solar water heating systems at pretty good prices,
and with quite a bit of sizing and installation information. |
| King Solar
www.KingSolar.com |
Solar water heating systems and components
including collectors, absorber plates, pumps, heat exchangers, controllers,
... |
| Butler Sun Solutions
http://www.butlersunsolutions.com/index.html
|
This supplier makes a heat exchanger for solar
water heating systems that can be inserted into an existing normal electric
water heating tank to allow it to be used for both the solar storage tank
and the backup water heating tank. |
| Solarhot USA -- Solar hot water
http://www.solarhotusa.com |
 Solar
components for water and pool heating.
They make a SolVelox that is a single package that allows your current hot
water tank to be used in a solar water heating system (pictured).
Packages pumps, heat exchanger, valves, and controller in one unit. |
| Thermomax Industries
http://www.solarthermal.com/index.asp |
Collectors, tanks, heat exchangers for solar
water heating systems. |
| Solar Roofs Solar Water Heating
Systems
http://solarroofs.com/index.html
|
A supplier of a line of solar water heating
systems that the manufacturer says is well suited to DIY installation.
Kits offered for freezing and non-freezing climates. The downloadable
installation manuals appear to be complete and well illustrated -- worth
looking at if you are doing your own system, or buying their kit. |
|
Solar Air Heating Collectors |
|
Solar Max Heating Systems
http://www.solarmaxheatinginc.com/
|
 Manufacturer
of solar air heating collectors for space heating.
SRCC certification is in the works. |
RREAL
www.rreal.org
|
SRCC certified solar air heating collectors in several sizes from a
non-profit.
I would just add that a low cost alternative to
the $300 controller they offer is a simple thermal snap switch at about $15
-- see the
solar air heating pages
for details. |
Sunsiaray Solar Manufacturing
http://www.sunsiaray.com/StartPage.htm
|
 Solar
air collector with selective coating -- 32 sqft modules can be ganged
together.
SRCC certified. |
Solarsheat Air Collector,
Your Solar Home, Inc.
www.yoursolarhome.com
|
 An
SRCC certified solar air heating collector that uses a PV powered fan. |
|
American Solar
http://www.americansolardepot.com/index.html
|
 American
Solar offers a kit for a 32 sqft air collector for $289.
This looks promising, but the information is very sketchy, so beware. |
|
DeSoto Solar -- Solar Air Collectors
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/collectors.html
|
Carefully
made Solar Air Collectors from solar experimenter Morris Dovey. |
|
Cansolair Solar Air Collectors
http://www.cansolair.com/
|
 Manufacturers
of a unique design solar air collector.
Dealers in Canada and most states. |
| Solar
Pool Heating |
| FlaSolar.Com
http://www.flasolar.com/solar_wtr_main.htm |
Supplies solar water heating
systems and pool heating systems. Fairly good information on their
site. |
| Go Solar
http://www.solarexpert.com/poolheat.html
|
 Supplier
of pool heating systems. Web site has some useful technical
information and a fuel saving calculator. |
| Pool-Spa-Products.com
http://www.pool-spa-products.com/
|
 Solar
pool heating kits for in-ground and above ground pools. |
Components For Solar Heating Systems
|
|
Glazing |
|
Glazing Guide for Solar
Applications... |
A guide to the pros and cons of various glazing
materials for solar collectors. |
| Interstate Plastics
www.interstateplastics.com/ |
Potential source for many types of plastics.
Engineering specs for many plastics. |
| Professional Plastics
http://www.professionalplastics.com |
 Very
wide variety of plastics of all sorts.
Good technical data and application notes. |
| SunTuf Polycarbonate Glazing
www.suntuf.com
SunTuf
Spec ... (pdf)
|
Polycarbonate glazing -- site has good specifications on
their glazing products, and some DIY plans. |
| DynaGlass
One supplier:
http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/...
|
 This
is a corrugated polycarbonate that is similar to SunTuf, but is available in
wider sheets. |
| Pilkington
www.pilkington.com |
Pilkington Glass -- good source of technical
information on glass. |
| Sun-Lite Fiberglass Glazing
http://www.solar-components.com/sun.htm
|
 This
glazing material appears to have a good track record in solar applications. |
| General Electric
http://www.geplastics.com
|
Source of Lexan (polycarbonate) and other
glazing plastics. If you have trouble finding Lexan sheet locally try the
GE phone: 800 451 3147
GE provides good engineering support for their glazing products.
Good specification and application docs, and will answer questions stated in
emails and telephone calls. |
| Modern Plastics
www.modernplastics.com |
Supplier of a wide variety of plastics glazing. |
| Sundance Supply
www.sundancesupply.com/index2.html |
Supplier of polycarbonate glazing panels. |
| EnviroCept Greenhouses, etc.
www.greenhouses-etc.net |
Supplier of greenhouse glazing products I
have ordered from these folks and received good service. |
| Greenhouse Mega Store
www.greenhousemegastore.com/products.asp?dept=1003
|
Supplier of greenhouse glazing products |
| TEK Supply
www.teksupply.com/farm/supplies/home
|
Supplier of greenhouse and farm equipment. Greenhouse glazing supplies --
including twinwall polycarbonate ...
|
| Multiwall Systems
http://www.multiwallsystems.com/
|
Seller of mulitwall polycarbonate glazing and glazing framing. The site
has some useful application and installation information. |
| Solexx Greenhouse Panels
http://www.farmwholesale.com/panels.php3
|
 Another
glazing option. High density Polyethylene double wall panels.
About $1 per sqft, 8 year guarantee, 75% transmission. |
Artic Glass and Window Outlet,
Eau Claire, WI
www.KissOurGlass.com (honest)
|
Artic Glass and Window outlet appears to offer
some good prices on double pane tempered glass that is good for sunrooms.
Their edge seal design looks somewhat different than others, so you might
want to discuss that with them.
They also have some good written material on glass and on building sunrooms. |
Charley's Greenhouse and Garden
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/ |
Wide variety of greenhouse and sunspace
supplies, including glazing, ventilation equipment, ... Greenhouse
suppliers in general can be a good source of glazing, fans, vents, ... |
| K-mac Plastics
http://polycarbonate-tubes-rods.com
|
K-mac appears to offer a wide variety of
polycarbonate and other plastics glazing. |
| RIDOUT Plastics
http://www.eplastics.com
|
A variety of plastics, including polycarbonate
sheet. |
| Warp's
http://www.warps.com/category.asp?section=windows
|
Warp's Flex-O-Glass has been reported to hold
up well in outdoor applications. Not a high temperature glazing.
|
| RIDOUT Plastics
www.eplastics.com/Plastic?search=mylar
|
Source for plastics and glazing materials,
including Mylar. |
| Nielsen Enterprises
http://www.mirrorsheeting.com/
|
A source for a variety of styles of aluminized and clear Mylar (Polyester
film) for making reflectors and glazing.
I have made several purchases for Nielsen and always received good service.Full rolls can be purchased via the manufactures such
as DuPont |
|
Pumps For Solar Water and Space Heating Systems, and
Solar PV Pumping See the
Components
Page->Pumps for Solar System Controls
(Also check the "Solar
Water Pumping" section) |
| |
|
|
Hand Pumps |
| Bison Pumps
http://www.bisonpumps.com/photo.htm
|
 Hand
pumps for either primary or backup use.
For shallow or deep wells (up to 300'). |
|
Solar System Controls See the
Components
Page->Controllers for Solar System Controls |
| |
|
| Fans
and Dampers |
| Fans and ventilators and a neat
back draft damper
http://www.tamtech.com/products.htm |
Fans and ventilators and a neat back draft
damper |
| Fantech
http://www.fantech.net/ |
Manufacturer of a wide line of fans, some of
which have good solar system uses. Often available on ebay. |
| Elicent Fans
http://www.elicent.it/inglese/fans.html |
Manufacturer of a wide line of fans, some of
which have good solar system uses. Often available on ebay. |
| Greentrees Hydroponics
http://www.hydroponics.net
|
 Quite
a variety of inline fans. |
| HMI Motorized Dampers
http://www.hoyme.com/product.html |
Various types of motorized dampers for combustion air intake and flues. |
| WAM Home Center
www.wamhomecenter.com
|
 Good
prices on tankless water heaters and other HVAC stuff.I ordered a
tankless water heater from these them and got good tech support and fast
shipping. |
|
Thermal Storage Related -- heat and cold storage,
tanks, liners,... See the
Components
Page->Tanks for Solar System Controls
(dozens of tank options listed) |
| |
|
| Phase Change
Materials for Heat Storage |
| RUBITHERM
http://www.rubitherm.com/english/index.htm
|
A supplier of a variety of phase change
materials for heat storage in solar systems. |
|
Reflector Film |
| Nielsen Enterprises
http://www.mirrorsheeting.com/
|
A source for a variety of styles of aluminized Mylar (Polyester film) for
making reflectors.
I have made several purchases for Nielsen and always received good service.Full rolls can be purchased via the manufactures such
as DuPont |
| Greentrees Hydroponics
http://www.hydroponics.net/
|
 Reflective
film as used in hydroponics applications. Several types.Look under:
Products -> Reflective Wall Coverings |
| ReflecTech Film
http://www.reflectechsolar.com/technical.htm
|
 A
reflective film made for outdoor reflector applications. High
reflectance and good outside durability. The back side has an adhesive
layer for application.
About $3 per sqft.
(thanks to Bill for suggesting this) |
|
Installing Panels |
|
To Add: the common attachment schemes for various roof styles. |
|
|
Roof Mounting without Roof Damage
http://www.4specs.com/s/07/07-7250.html
|
 Mounting
collectors or equipment on a tar roof without damage. |
|
S5 Attachment Hardware
http://www.s-5solutions.com/html/Hardware/
|
 A
means to install panels to standing seam roofs. |
|
Selective Surfaces |
|
Potential Selective Coatings Suppliers
http://www.mtisolar.com/
http://www.tinox.de/tinox/gbtinox.html
http://www.solec.org/
http://www.sunselect.de |
 Potential
suppliers of selective coatings pre-applied to a metal substrate, or
selective paints.
I'm not sure how any of these suppliers will feel about small orders,
or what the prices might be.
If you have experience with any of these suppliers (or others), I'd like
to hear about it.
-----------
Solkote from www.solec.org is apparently
available in gallon quantities. Here is a note that was posted by Jeff
on it:
A gallon of solkote runs about $60 + shipping ($20 or so).
500 ft square or so of coverage.
Solkote advised not using aluminum flashing as the quality of aluminum is
low because of the amount of magnesium and indicated this would lead to
decreased life. All news to me! |
|
Thurmalox Selective Surface Coating
www.dampney.com/...
http://www.solar-components.com/batchheat.htm
|
 This
is a silicone based selective coating that comes in a spray can. If
this works, it might be a good DIY alternative to the selective coatings
listed above.
It is claimed that when applied at 0.5 mil thick, it has an absorptivity of
0.96 and an emissivity of 0.52. This is not as good as some
commercial selective coatings, but is a good improvement over black paint.
It is claimed that it holds up well to inside of collector environments.
A can covers 50 sqft and costs around $15.
If you have had any experience with this product, please let me know how it
worked out. |
| Piping,
Tubing |
| Endot Industries
http://www.endot.com
|
A manufacturer of various types of HDPE and PE plastic pipe.
Good specification, reference, and plumbing design material for download in
the support area. |
| Berry Hill Irrigation
http://www.berryhilldrip.com/
|
 Irrigation
systems, large rolls of irrigation piping, .. |
| IPEX -- PEX pipe
http://www.ipexinc.com/Content/en_ca/index.asp
|
The IPEX technical library has a
lot of good reference material on PEX and PEX-AL-PEX pipe as applied to
radiant floor heating.
You will need to go through a short registration procedure. |
| Copper.Org
www.copper.org |
Search for "The Copper Tube Handbook"
-- 7mb of
more than you will ever need to know about copper tubing/pipe size,
geometry, ratings, ... |
| Drillspot -- Pipe Insualtion
www.drillspot.com/...
|
 One
source for thick wall, closed cell pipe insulation. |
| MAXX-R Pipe Insulation System
http://www.heatall.com/maxx-r/index.html
|
 An
insulating scheme for buried pipes.The claimed R values seem reasonable
for the the thickness of the insulation (in contrast to some of the products
in this area). |
|
Heat Exchangers See the
Components
Page->Heat Exchangers for Solar System Heat
Exchangers |
|
Heat Transfer Compounds |
| Thermon Heat Transfer Compounds
www.thermon.com/catalogs/us/thermon.html
|
 The
problem of thermally bonding tubing to a storage tank or an absorber fin
comes up a lot. This stuff might work -- have not tried. Please
let me know if you do. |
|
Heat Transfer Plates |
| Tom's Fins
www.aluminum-solar-absorbers.com/
|
 Tom
Sullivan, who has contributed many solar projects to Build-It-Solar has
started making heat transfer plates commercially.These plates are very
well made and optimized for solar collectors. |
| BlueRidge
www.blueridgecompany.com/...
|
 Aluminum
heat transfer plates that slip over PEX tubing. Intended to make
radiant floors more efficient. Can probably also be used in building
solar collectors. |
| M.P. Metal Products
http://www.mpmetals.com/prod_heattransfer.asp
|
 Source
for aluminum heat transfer plates. |
|
You can also make the
fins easily... |
A rundown on all the many ways to make or buy fins. |
|
Radiant Heating |
| IPEX and Warmrite
http://www.ipexinc.com |
Supplier of radiant floor heating products.
Some good downloads in "Tech Library" |
| Radiant Engineering
www.radiantengineering.com/index.html |
Radiant heating products. |
| Warmzone
http://www.warmzone.com/ |
Supplier of radiant floor heating systems and
components |
PEX Universe
http://www.pexuniverse.com |
Supplier of radiant floor heating systems,
components, PEX, ... |
| The BlueRidge Company
http://blueridgecompany.com/ |
Supplier of radiant floor heating systems and
components |
| Slant Fin
http://www.slantfin.com/ |
Supplier of radiant floor heating systems and
components |
|
Wirsbo http://www.wirsbo.com |
Manufacturer of radiant floor heating compnents. |
| PEX Connection
http://www.pexconnection.com/index.php |
Supplier of PEX tubing and radiant floor
supplies |
| Radiant Direct
http://www.radiantdirect.com/index.php |
Supplier of radiant floor heating systems and
components |
| Plumbing Goods
http://www.plumbinggoods.com |
Supplier of radiant floor heating systems and
components |
| Condensing Boilters
NTI:
www.nythermal.com/Products/boilers/gas/trinity.htm
Dunkirk:
http://www.dunkirk.com/index.asp |
 One
potential supplier for efficient, condensing boilers that work well in solar
radiant floor systems.
Note that some conventional boilers that require a high
minimum return temperature do not work well with solar. |
| adiant Floor Company
http://www.radiantcompany.com/details/
|
 Lots
of good installation and design detail on this site. |
| RadiantTec
http://www.radiantec.com/ |
Supplier of radiant floor heating systems |
