Table of Contents
Acknowledgments IX
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 History 5
Chapter 2 Conservation and the Economics of Solar Water Heating 11
The True Cost of Fossil Fuel 13
A Brief History of Fossil Fuels 15
Life-Cycle Costing 17
Chapter 3 Types of Solar Collectors 23
Flat Plate Collectors 24
Evacuated Tube Collectors 26
ICS Collectors 30
Concentrating Collectors 32
Pool Collectors 33
Comparing Solar Water Heating Collectors 34
Air Collectors 39
Chapter 4 Other System Components 41
Storage Tanks 41
Heat Exchangers 46
Pumps 47
Piping and Pipe Insulation 49
Solar Fluids 51
Other System Components 53
Chapter 5 Solar Water Heating Systems 65
Introduction 65
Pressurized Antifreeze Systems 68
Drainback Systems 77
Integral Collector Storage Systems 82
Thermosiphon Systems 84
Open-Loop Systems 86
Draindown Systems 87
Refrigerant Solar Water Heaters 89
Solar Heated Pools 90
Solar Heated Hot Tubs and Spas 94
Chapter 6 Solar Space Heating Systems 97
Liquid-Type Solar Heating Systems 99
Liquid-Type Systems without Storage 99
Liquid-Type Systems with Storage 101
Heat Delivery Methods 110
High-Mass Systems 119
Air-Type Solar Heating Systems 124
Chapter 7 Choosing the Right System for Your Needs 129
Siting a Solar Energy System 130
Sizing a Solar Water Heating System 137
Sizing a Solar Space Heating System 143
Sizing Components 150
Sizing Expansion Tanks 156
Sizing Air Heating Systems 157
Chapter 8 System Installation 159
Installing Solar Water Heating Systems 159
Handling Solar Collectors 161
Mounting Solar Collectors 165
Mounting the Heat Exchanger 181
Plumbing the System 184
Testing the System 192
Installing Solar Pool Heating Systems 193
Installing Radiant Floor Tubing 194
Chapter 9 System Operation and Maintenance 203
Charging a Pressurized System 203
Charging a High-Mass System 209
Finishing Up 209
Controls and Power Sources 210
Maintenance 218
Appendix A Wire Sizing Chart 225
Appendix B Metric Conversions 227
Appendix C Temperature and Resistance Conversion Chart for 10K Thermistors 229
Glossary 231
Index 235
About the Authors 245
