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:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsx7BX0l5uQ

How evacuated tubes are manufactured:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z322o2X8upY

Flat plate collector

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

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv1H5Q2yY94

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.

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!

• 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 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

Water heating is typically the largest consumer of electricity in households and does therefore provide a perfect area for saving. Water in your geyser is typically heated by a electrical element which turns on and off based on the temperature of the water inside the geyser, thus the efficiency of this element and thermostat is of absolute importance as a faulty element can lead to decreased efficiency and increased electricity usage.  A faulty thermostat can also cause your geyser to heat the water too much resulting in a waste in electricity as well as water released by your safety valve.

So there are many ways to save money and still provide adequate hot water. Huge cash savings can be realised by ensuring that your geyser operates efficiently as well as making use of alternate energy sources to heat the water. A great source of alternate energy for water heating purposes is Solar Water Heating as it allows you to efficiently convert the energy contained in the Sun’s rays into heat which is in turn used to heat the water in your geyser.

Many different solar geyser solutions are available on the South African market today. I highly recommend sticking to SABS tested or approved solutions which are approved on the Eskom solar geyser programme. This will help ensure that you install a quality solution that is going to last as well as save you money in the medium to long term.

So complete the form to the left to be connected to a Solar Geyser provider in your area who provides SABS tested solutions and who has been accredited on the Eskom solar geyser programme.