How it Works

How a Solar Hot Water System Works:

Worcester, MA    

  1. Two or three panels called solar collectors are installed on your roof, the side of your home/business, or on the ground.
  2. A solar hot water tank is installed in your basement near your existing water tank. Solar hot water can be used in conjunction with traditional oil, gas or electric water heaters. It can also be integrated with on-demand (tankless) water heaters or indirect fired water heaters. In some cases, only one tank is needed
  3. Plumbing connects the panels and the tanks. A mixture of glycol and filtered/de-ionized water flows through these pipes. The fluid will not freeze down to -30 F.
  4. When the sun shines, it heats the fluid, which flows from the solar collectors to the solar storage tank where it heats your water. In the summer, the solar heated water can reach temperatures of 150-160 degrees F. In the winter, it reaches around 90-100 degrees F.
  5. When hot water is needed in the summer, providing the weather is normal, your traditional water heater will not turn on at all.
  6. In colder weather, the solar hot water flows from the solar tank into the traditional water heater to “finish up.