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OK, can you just buy a solar heating panel? You and your best friend can install it...depending on location you can easily get hot water for 6-10 months a year.

OK, can you just buy a solar heating panel? You and your best friend can install it...depending on location you can easily get hot water for 6-10 months a year. That's quite a savings. You don't have to solve everything today ;)

lstodd 8y ago
Solar heating panel? A bunch of wooden/plywood boxes, some glazing for them (can actually reuse thrown-away window panels), a bit of plumbing with PP pipe (ridiculously lego-like easy), some kind of top tank (a common steel drum?). And some making sure the roof/attic floor doesn't collapse, which usually is not a problem. This can be _build_from_scratch_ in a couple of weekends with a best friend. But for the construction codes. And unions. It's so low-tech, so I wonder why I haven't heard of 19th century installations. Me, I actuially built two in places where construction codes are not an issue. And have seen functioning installs dating from 1950s. I don't think it even makes any sense to mass-produce heat boxes the way the solar-electric panels have to be. It all can be either made on site or included into the house design from start. That's maybe why you can't buy solar heating off the shelf.
- sgc 8y ago
  I don't agree simply because it is very common for diy solar water panel systems to leak all over the place. There at least needs to be prescriptive code to help reduce instances of crap work. But since it is a lot of pipe in a small footprint, it just makes sense to have it made in a factory with better quality control.
briandear 8y ago
You and your best friend most likely can’t install it. You not only need building permits, you also typically need a licensed electrician to do the work. Doing it without a permit or properly credentialed installers risks sanction from the municipality as well as potential insurance consequences.
- thoughtfunction 8y ago
  A 'solar heating panel' in most cases is a water tank exposed to the sun as much as possible painted in black. Or maybe put inside a black box. Not a lot of electricity work there.
  - Animats 8y ago
    It's not quite that simple. Flat plate collectors are roof components, and they have all the problems of roofing. Making them leakproof despite big thermal stresses takes some work. Brazed copper plumbing works. Plastics, not as well.[1] You usually want a water tank to buffer the thing, so you can get hot water at night. Temperature will be all over the place without that. Giant hot water tanks in attics need extra structural support, which was a problem in Florida at one time. There are some fancier setups that will work in cold weather. Some systems use antifreeze in the panels, and a heat exchanger. [1] http://www.alternative-energy-tutorials.com/solar-hot-water/flat-plate-collector.html http://www.alternative-energy-tutorials.com/solar-hot-water/...

lstodd 8y ago

Solar heating panel? A bunch of wooden/plywood boxes, some glazing for them (can actually reuse thrown-away window panels), a bit of plumbing with PP pipe (ridiculously lego-like easy), some kind of top tank (a common steel drum?). And some making sure the roof/attic floor doesn't collapse, which usually is not a problem. This can be _build_from_scratch_ in a couple of weekends with a best friend. But for the construction codes. And unions. It's so low-tech, so I wonder why I haven't heard of 19th century installations. Me, I actuially built two in places where construction codes are not an issue. And have seen functioning installs dating from 1950s. I don't think it even makes any sense to mass-produce heat boxes the way the solar-electric panels have to be. It all can be either made on site or included into the house design from start. That's maybe why you can't buy solar heating off the shelf.

sgc 8y ago
I don't agree simply because it is very common for diy solar water panel systems to leak all over the place. There at least needs to be prescriptive code to help reduce instances of crap work. But since it is a lot of pipe in a small footprint, it just makes sense to have it made in a factory with better quality control.

briandear 8y ago

You and your best friend most likely can’t install it. You not only need building permits, you also typically need a licensed electrician to do the work. Doing it without a permit or properly credentialed installers risks sanction from the municipality as well as potential insurance consequences.

thoughtfunction 8y ago
A 'solar heating panel' in most cases is a water tank exposed to the sun as much as possible painted in black. Or maybe put inside a black box. Not a lot of electricity work there.
- Animats 8y ago
  It's not quite that simple. Flat plate collectors are roof components, and they have all the problems of roofing. Making them leakproof despite big thermal stresses takes some work. Brazed copper plumbing works. Plastics, not as well.[1] You usually want a water tank to buffer the thing, so you can get hot water at night. Temperature will be all over the place without that. Giant hot water tanks in attics need extra structural support, which was a problem in Florida at one time. There are some fancier setups that will work in cold weather. Some systems use antifreeze in the panels, and a heat exchanger. [1] http://www.alternative-energy-tutorials.com/solar-hot-water/flat-plate-collector.html http://www.alternative-energy-tutorials.com/solar-hot-water/...