SOLAR

HEATING
Solar Heating Systems A New Idea?
 The Greeks faced severe fuel shortages in fifth century
BC, resorting to arranging their houses so that each
could make maximum use of the sun’s warming rays. A
standard house plan emerged, with Socrates noting, “In
houses that look toward the south, the sun penetrates
the portico in winter.”
 The Romans picked up on this technique, and
improved it by adding windows of mica or glass to
better hold in the heat.
 In the Americas, the Anazazi took advantage of solar
insolation in their cave dwellings in 1220AD Early
Passive Solar Desig
Early Passive Solar Designs
 Montezuma Castle,
Arizona, 1200AD
 Direct gain construction
 South facing
 Overhang
 Stone is a good thermal
mass
 What is Solar Heating?

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  Solar heating refers to the renewable
energy system that collects energy from
the sun in the form of heat rather than
using the sun’s energy to produce
electricity, as is the case with solar
photovoltaics. Solar heating systems can
be used to provide space heating and
water heating to be used in residential,
commercial, or industrial facilities.

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  In the case of solar water heating (SWH)
systems, heated water is used in showers,
kitchen and bathroom faucets, swimming
pools, washing machines, Jacuzzis, and
other appliances that require warm water.
Solar space heating techniques circulate
the heated liquid in a radiant heat system
through piping in the walls or floors to allow
the heat to naturally warm indoor spaces.

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 TWO TYPES OF SOLAR
HEATING

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 TWO TYPES OF SOLAR HEATING

 PASSIVE HEATING

 ACTIVE HEATING

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 PASSIVE HEATING
 Passive heating relies on architectural design
to heat buildings. The building’s site, structure,
and materials can all be utilized to maximize the
heating (and lighting) effect of the sunlight falling
on it, thereby lowering or even eliminating its fuel
requirement. A well-insulated building with a large
glass window facing south, for instance, can
effectively trap heat on sunny days and reduce
reliance on gas or oil (for heating) or electricity
(for lighting).

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  Entering sunlight warms the air and the solid
surfaces in those rooms exposed to it, and this
warmth is carried to other rooms in the
building by natural convection. Interior finishe
s such as brick or tile are often incorporated
into buildings to absorb the sunlight and
reradiate the heat at night.

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 ACTIVE SOLAR HEATING
 In Active heating, mechanical means are
used to store, collect, and distribute
solar energy in buildings in order to
provide hot water or space heating. The
sunlight falling on a building’s collector array
is converted to heat, which is transferred
to a carrier fluid (usually a liquid, less
commonly air) that is then pumped to a
conversion, storage, and distribution system.

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 TWO TYPES OF SOLAR
COLLECTORS

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 TWO TYPES OF SOLAR
COLLECTORS
 Flat Plate Collectors

 Evacuated Tube Collectors

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 FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS
 These collectors are simply metal boxes that have some sort of
transparent glazing as a cover on top of a dark-coloured absorber
plate.
 The sides and bottom of the collector are usually covered with
insulation to minimize heat losses to other parts of the collector.
 Solar radiation passes through the transparent glazing material and
hits the absorber plate. This plate heats up, transferring the heat to
either water or air that is held between the glazing and absorber
plate.
 Sometimes these absorber plates are painted with special coatings
designed to absorb and retain heat better than traditional black
paint. These plates are usually made out of metal that is a good
conductor - usually copper or aluminum.

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 FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS

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 EVACUATED TUBE COLLECTORS
 This type of solar collector uses a series of evacuated tubes to
heat water for use. These tubes utilize a vacuum, or evacuated
space, to capture the suns energy while minimizing the loss of
heat to the surroundings.
 They have an inner metal tube which acts as the absorber plate,
which is connected to a heat pipe to carry the heat collected
from the Sun to the water. This heat pipe is essentially a pipe
where the fluid contents are under a very particular pressure.
 At this pressure, the "hot" end of the pipe has boiling liquid in it
while the "cold" end has condensing vapour. This allows for
thermal energy to move more efficiently from one end of the
pipe to the other.

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 EVACUATED TUBE COLLECTORS

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 Difference between Flat and Evacuated
Collectors
 Cost:
Flat plate collectors tend to be cheaper than evacuated
tubes because they are a simpler design and easier to
manufacture.
 Installation:

Flat plat collectors are heavier, take up more room, and

can be cumbersome to install on certain roofs. Evacuated tubes
tend to have lighter components and are easier to manage on
the roof. Evacuated tubes tend to be more fragile than flat plates.
 Reliability:

Flat plate collectors can only heat water up to 170-180°F,

which means there is very small risk of overheating. Evacuated
tubes, on the other hand, can heat water to well over 250°F.

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 ELEMENTS OF PASSIVE SOLAR
HEATING

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 APERTURE(COLLECTOR)
 The large glass (window) area through which
sunlight enters the building.
 Typically, the aperture(s) should face within 30
degrees of true south and should not be shaded by
other buildings or trees from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
 The amount of solar gain transmitted through glass is
affected by the angle of the incident solar radiation.
 Sunlight striking glass within 20 degrees of
perpendicular is mostly transmitted through the
glass, whereas sunlight at more than 35 degrees
from perpendicular is mostly reflected.

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 APERTURE(COLLECTOR)
 Low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings are
microscopically thin, virtually invisible, metallic
oxide layers deposited on a window surface
 Low-E coatings are transparent to visible light,
and opaque to infrared radiation.
 In typical insulated glazing, the low-e coating is
found on one of the interior faces of the glass.
 A simple low-e coating helps to reduce heat loss
but allows the room to be warmed by any
sunshine.

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 ABSORBER
 The hard, darkened surface of the storage
element.
 This surface—which could be that of a
masonry wall, floor, or partition (phase
change material), or that of a water container
—sits in the direct path of sunlight.
 Sunlight hits the surface and is absorbed as
heat.

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 THERMAL MASS
 The materials that retain or store the heat
produced by sunlight.
 The difference between the absorber and thermal
mass, although they often form the same wall or
floor, is that the absorber is an exposed surface
whereas thermal mass is the material below or
behind that surface.
 Masonry materials, like concrete, stones, brick,
and tile, are commonly used as thermal mass in
passive solar homes. Water also has been
successfully used.
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 DISTRIBUTION
 The method by which solar heat circulates
from the collection and storage points to
different areas of the house.
 A strictly passive design will use the three
natural heat transfer modes—conduction,
convection, and radiation—exclusively.
 An active design uses fans, ducts, and
blowers may help with the distribution of
heat through the house.

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 CONTROL
 Roof overhangs can be used to shade the
aperture area during summer months.
 Other elements that control under- and/or
overheating include electronic sensing
devices, such as a differential thermostat
that signals a fan to turn on; operable vents
and dampers that allow or restrict heat flow;
low-emissivity blinds; and awnings.

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 ACTIVE SOLAR HEATING

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 Elements of Passive Solar Design
 Evergreen trees planted in back (North Side)
 Deciduous trees planted in front (South
Side)
 Partial earth sheltering in back

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 Elements of Passive Solar Design

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 Modern Passive Solar Design
 Note Evergreen
trees and partial
earth sheltering.
 What side (north
or south) of the
house are you
looking at?

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 Modern Passive Direct Gain Solar
Design

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 Modern Passive Direct Gain Solar
Design
 South Facing,
double pane
windows serve as
the aperature
 Ceramic floor tile
acts as the
absorber and
thermal mass,
storing solar heat

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 Trombe Walls
 Trombe walls are
an indirect gain
system because
the heat from the
wall is circulated
to the house
through
convection

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 Trombe Wall - Outside View

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 Trombe Wall – Inside View

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 Trombe Wall
 The Trombe wall distributes or releases heat into the
home over a period of several hours. • Solar heat
migrates through the wall, reaching its rear surface in
the late afternoon or early evening.
 When the indoor temperature falls below that of the
wall's surface, heat begins to radiate and transfer into
the room.
 For example, heat travels through a masonry wall at
an average rate of 1 hour per inch. Therefore, the heat
absorbed on the outside of an 8-inch-thick concrete
wall at noon will enter the interior living space around 8
p.m.

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 Thermosiphoning Air Panels
 Panels are attached to
wall that allow air to be
heated by sun
 Indirect gain because
air is circulated to house
by convection

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 Solar Heating with Greenhouses
 Heat from solar radiation is stored in water
drums or concrete floor
 Convection circulates heat to rest of house

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 The Greenhouse Effect
 • Glass will transmit
visibly light but not
infrared light (i.e. the
radiation given off
by room
temperature objects)
 Solar radiation
enters, but heat
cannot escape as
infrared radiation
 Heat is trapped and
temperature rises

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 Solar Heating with Greenhouses

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 Passive Solar Water Heaters I
 A batch solar water
heater consists of
black water tanks
set in the sunlight •
 Glazing (glass
panel) partially
prevents heat from
escaping
 Must be covered
with insulation at
night

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 Passive Solar Water Heating II
 In a
thermosiphoning
solar water heater
water is circulated
through a solar
collector by
natural convection
 Tank must be
placed above the
collector

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 Thermosiphoning Hot Water System

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 Orientation of the Collector Plates
 Since more heat is
required in winter,
collector plates
should face more
towards the winter
sun
 A good rule is to
angle the plate
halfway between the
noon height of the
sun in fall and winter
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 Calculating the Tilt of a Collector Plate

 The optimum angle in spring or fall is

anglefall = your latitude The optimum angle
in winter is anglewinter = your latitude +
23.5°
 Thus optimum angle = (anglefall +
anglewinter)/2

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 Calculating the Tilt of a Collector Plate

 What is the optimum angle for a solar

collector in Peoria (40° N)?
– anglefall = 40°
– anglewinter = 40° + 23.5° = 63.5°
– optimum angle = (40° + 63.5°)/2 = 51.7°

51.7°

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 Size of Collector
 Q = I x ε x A I = insolation ε = efficiency A =
area of collector

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Insolation
 • Insolation is the amount of useful
radiation that can be collected on a
horizontal surface
 Insolation can be increased by tilting a
surface towards the sun (i.e. south)
 Calculating the Size of Collector
 How large a collector is required to heat a
home that requires 100,000 Btu/hr? Assume
the insolation is 1300 Btu/hr/ft2 and the
collector is 50% efficient.
 Answer: Q = I x ε x A I = insolation, ε =
efficiency, A = area of collector Rearrange
equation to obtain A = Q/(I x ε) =
100,000/(1300 x 0.5) = 154 ft

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 STAY TUNED FOR A VIDEO
PRESENTATION

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