Using Solar Panels To Heat Your Home

Unlike solar photovoltaic panels which use semiconductors to turn sunlight directly into electricity solar thermal collectors are relatively simple devices simple enough that it s possible to build your own with common materials.

Using solar panels to heat your home.

In fact about 18 percent of home energy use goes towards heating water according to the u s. Department of energy it is possible to reduce energy use and the associated costs by switching to a home solar water heating system. Heating your home with an active solar energy system can significantly reduce your fuel bills in the winter. A lot of energy is used in the home to heat water.

When the liquid is heated it is pumped. Solar makes the perfect heat source for installed radiant floor heating. To use active solar heating to heat your house panels of tubes or pipes called a radiant slab system are installed in the floors or walls of your home. That allows the solar system to heat your home leaving the normal heat system as a backup.

Another option is to install a second thermostat to operate the solar heating. Alternatives to unglazed solar collectors include evacuated tube solar thermal systems flat plate solar thermal systems and thermodynamic panels. Solar thermal collectors directly turn the sun s energy into heat where it s collected and tranferred to a hot water tank in your home. Solar patio covers are part of an emerging category of solar that uses a structure other than the roof of your home or business as the framework for a solar system installation.

When it comes to using solar electricity for water heating there is a surprisingly large number of moving parts and options. A solar heating system will also reduce the amount of air pollution and greenhouse gases that result from your use of fossil fuels for heating or generating the electricity. Glazed panels are only used in colder climates since they work to heat water in temperatures that fall below freezing. Typically in these kinds of setups a solar heated storage tank is connected to the radiant system to pump heated liquid through the pipes embedded in the radiant flooring.

There s often a gas electric or oil backup for particularly cold days. These structures are often commonly referred to as solar pergolas.