Aug
30
What happens to your energy/hot water if you are using solar power and it’s cloudy for several days in a row?
ByI used to have a solar water heater 15-20 years ago and it worked OK when it was sunny (of course!). However, if it was cloudy/rainy for several days in a row, there was no hot water when it was needed the most.
Do modern systems work better, or is this still an issue?
10 Comments
August 30th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
YOU A STONE COLD **** MACHINE.
August 30th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
modern machine are adapted to work on light and not necessary sun
buying a modern Machine can help
but i prefer you buy and extra batter CHARGER if your
that can store extra energy for when the days get gloomy
August 30th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
You are still cold unless the system uses some other fuel as a backup.
August 30th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Modern green systems use a combination of energy sources to optimize the energy use. Solar cells and eolic generators (wind) produce enough energy to heat the water complementing the solar water heater. Check Popular Science for more info on the matter.
August 30th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
According to some quantum theories, the subatomic structure of solar panels or solar water heaters have a complex and dense shape.
In other words, newer technology does a better job in heating water.
Get a new solar heater. The older it is, the more energy is wasted.
As a result, your carbon footprint is actually worse
August 30th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
It really depends on how everything is configured. Ideally, you should have a bank of batteries that store energy when it is night or a cloudy day. The bigger the bank, the more cloudy days you can withstand. Water will keep hot for a fairly long time if the water storage unit is insulated well. For more information, visit the URL in my sources.
August 30th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Solar power and solar thermal systems should always be designed with a conventional back-up for those cloudy or rainy days, or those times where your needs exceed the producing capabilities of the system. For a power system, batteries are an option, but the grid is ususally your best back-up. For a thermal system, it is usually a conventional water heater.
Keep in mind that solar does its best work when it is supplimenting your home usage rather than replacing it. The short answer to your question is that newer systems will work much better if it is designed and installed properly.
August 30th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
that’swhy you still have electric hook in the house too for back up and say prayers too for that
August 30th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
All solar water heaters require a separate backup system. The solar input is stored in a well insulated tank. From there it runs through a gas or electric heater tank. If the temperature of the solar fill is at or above 90 to 110 degrees the backup stays off line if the solar fill drops below 90 degrees the backup heater takes over so that both tanks, the solar and the backup always have at least 40 gallons of hot water.
August 30th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
Most solar water heating systems are installed as a preheater to a backup water heater. The collectors heat the water in a super-insulated storage tank. The hot water output of that goes to the cold water input of a backup heater; electric, gas, oil, whatever. So on rainy days, the tank is insulated so it doesn’t lose much of the heat that it made, but it may send 90 degree water to your backup heater instead of the 50 degrees you get from the city or well. That’s 40 degrees less that the backup needs to heat, but still always provides hot water to the house. But on sunny days, your backup heater doesn’t need to turn on at all. Many people actually turn the backup off in the summer.