A solar collector is the device that is typically placed North facing on your roof which absorbs Sun light and converts it into heat. The heat produced by the solar collector is in turn used to heat the water inside your geyser.

There are various types of solar collectors on the market and the two most popular types are:

• Evacuated tube collectors
• Flat plate collectors

Evacuated tube collector

Demo of how hot evacuated tubes can get in just 30 minutes:

How evacuated tubes are manufactured:

Flat plate collector

Demo of how flat late collectors are used in commercial systems.

Solar water heating is a great way to save the environment and your pocket! Solar water heating systems allow you to save electricity, save money and save the environment. Solar water heating uses the energy received from the sun in the form of sunlight to produce heat which is used to heat the water in your solar geyser. Solar water heating is a simple and cost effective way of reducing that electricity bill and not have to go through changes in your lifestyle to do so.

Get solar water heating provides you with a service to connect you with a solar water heating provider in your area FREE of charge to you. This service helps you ensure that the solar water heating solution you install is accredited by Eksom as well as SABS tested. Get solar water heating also tries to ensure that the  solar water heating provider we connect you with delivers quality solar water heating products and services.

Solar water heating can be used in many different applications such as domestic hot water systems, commercial water heating systems, and industrial water heating systems. Solar water heating makes use of the sunlight received on earth during the day to heat the water. The hot water produced by a solar water heating system can be seen as ‘green’ as no carbon gases were emitted into the atmosphere in the process of generating the energy.

There are many different types and combinations of solar water heating systems on the market today. Some solar water heating systems use flat plat collectors, others use evacuated tubes solar collectors, some use solar pumps for circulation where other use a principle called thermo-siphon – where hot water rises and cold water sinks.

Get solar water heating will connect you with an accredited provider close to you, just complete the contact us form and we will get to work!

An evacuated tube solar collector is comprised of various components:

• Frame – typically made from aluminum
• Manifold
• Evacuated glass tubes – also known as heat pipes

Evacuated tubes can be used in many different configurations in a solar water heating system. In some systems, the water is does not flow through the tubes and in others it does. Some evacuated tubes have a copper pipe inside which is filled with alcohol which transfers the heat produced by the evacuated tube to the manifold where it is transferred to the water.

Evacuated tubes are known for their superb performance in European weather conditions as they are immune to wind chill. The vacuum inside the tube creates and insulating layer which prevents the evacuated tube solar collector from cooling when wind passes over it acting very much like a thermo-flask.

Get solar water heating can connect you with a provider in your area who can install a quality solar water heating solution for you.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is energy produced from a source that is naturally repleniched such as:

• Sunlight
• Wind
• Rain
• Tides
• Geothermal heat

Wind Power

Wind power as the term suggests is power generated from wind or airflow. Air flow can be used to run wind turbines which are used to produce electricity. Most wind turbines produce between 600kW and 5MW of rated power, but the most common wind turbines produce between 1.5 and 3MW of power.

Wind power does however have its issues:

• Wind turbines are huge structures and can be aesthetically unfriendly
• They kill many birds a year
• The wind does not blow all day and all night in many parts of the world and can be unpredictable

Solar Energy

Solar energy refers to the process of converting energy received from the Sun in the form of sunlight into a usable form such as electricity or heat. Solar energy can be converted into electricity using solar photovoltaic panels (also known as PV panels). Solar PV as a technology is advancing but the efficiency of PV panels are still relatively low and costs can be rather high especially on a large scale.

Solar water heating is the process of converting sunlight into heat energy which is used to heat water for use in a variety of applications such as homes, hotels, hostels and factories.

Water Power

Energy in water – in the form of kinetic energy, temperature differences or salinity gradients – can be harnessed and used. Since water is about 800 times denser than air even a small flow or sea swell can yield large amounts of power.

There are may forms of water energy including:

• Hydroelectric energy is a form of alternate energy – a term used to refer to large scale hydroelectric dams
• Micro hydro – small hydroelectric systems which typically produce up to 100kW of power
• Damless Hydro – systems which generate power from rivers or the sea without the use of a dam
• Ocean Energy – all forms of energy derived from the oceans
• Osmotic Power or salinity gradient power – is the energy derived from the difference in concentration of salt in river and sea water