4 ms·
Those are not solar cells, those are water heaters. In the interest of being honest. No wonder they still work, those are literally water pipes embedded in a
by clarionbell 4y ago
Those are not solar cells, those are water heaters.
In the interest of being honest.
No wonder they still work, those are literally water pipes embedded in a roof panel. No inverter, no battery, nothing. The only thing they have in common with solar cells people install today is the fact that they are powered by sun.
- nicoburns 4y agoWorth noting that people do still install those today in addition to PV panels. PV panels seem to get 20-30 years of use, which isn’t bad at all. And I believe they usually still work after that time, just with reduced efficiency.
- arcticbull 4y agoThere's also some cool combo rooftop solar panels/water heaters. [1] By cooling the panels themselves they increase their efficiency by up to 15% (so an increase from ~20% to ~23% total efficiency) - while also heating water for the home. [1] https://dualsun.com/en/product/hybrid-panel-spring/ https://dualsun.com/en/product/hybrid-panel-spring/
- pfdietz 4y agoIt is my understanding that residential solar water heating is moving to PV + heat pump water heaters.