Solar Water Heating

Overview

Solar panels have been well documented as being excellent sources of renewable energy, even if they have a long way to go before they can truly be considered a dominant form of energy. As the technology is being developed however, there is no reason for you not to take advantage of what is already available on the market today.

There are three primary aspects to solar water heating, all of which need to be in place for the system to work. The first is a way to collect the energy of the sun. For most people, this is going to mean solar panels fitted to the roof of your house. Most of the new houses constructed in the larger cities like London are already created with this in mind and with the general level of experience that contractors now have, it should not be difficult hiring someone to make these modifications to your house. The new panels will replace roof shingles and will allow you to collect the energy that the sun's rays provide.

Once you've done that, the next step involves the installation of a heat transfer system in your house. This system is similar to the heat pump that you already have except it needs to be converted slightly in order to be able to transfer the stored energy in the solar panel to the water, heating it up to the point where it can be used in the same way as water from your conventional heat pump.

Finally, a storage mechanism for the heated water is also necessary. When the solar panels collect energy and the transfer device uses it to heat the water, you then need somewhere to store that water for when you might need it later. This part of the system is the easiest, since it doesn't need to be converted at all as it is never directly taking anything from the solar panels.

Once you have these three systems in place, you effectively have a system of heating that takes the energy stored in solar panels and uses it to heat the water that you use for your everyday life.

For Further Reading

Energy Savings Trust on Solar Water Heating: The Energy Savings Trust website is a good source of trustworthy information when it comes to alternative sources of energy. In addition to explaining solar water heating in more detail, they also help you discover whether this particular form of energy is right for your home.

Do it yourself: If you're interested in creating your own solar panel for water heating purposes, check this website out! While most people should probably still opt for the panels created by others, it is definitely an interesting read. Going through it will allow you to learn in detail how solar panels work, which should in turn give you a better understanding of the overall process.