Using Solar Energy Collectors In Brisbane

In the next few chapters we'll cover the basic facts you need to know before you tackle putting the sun to work for you. We need to look at each element of a Solar heating system, then put them together. We'll cover each component as if it were the only part to consider then we'll put them all together. No one piece works independently of the others; it's careful integration of all components that makes a solar heating system efficient and cost-effective, which is what this book is all about. First we'll look at Brisbane solar energy collectors, then the mediums (fluids) we use in them. Next I'll show you devices (Solar Heat Exchangers) that transfer heat from one medium to another, or to a separate loop of the same medium to smooth out the transfer of heat. Some devices only hold heat from around noon, when the Sun's its hottest, until 10:00 p.m., when you're ready for a hot shower. Small heat exchangers lead into longer term storage, because they're based on the same principles, just bigger. Putting The Sun's Energy to Work for You, we'll start with a Solar water heater conversion and expand from reliance on fossil fuels through various levels of solar heat use, reducing dependence on outside suppliers, to independence from anything but the sun. Brisbane solar energy collectors (Solar Heat Absorbers) To get any use from the Sun's energy, its heat must be absorbed into a medium, air, gas or liquid, and transported to where it's needed. A collector is a device that absorbs the Sun's heat. Once absorbed by a collecting medium, it's moved by flowing, being pumped, or blown by fans to where we want it. When and where possible move fluids-and heat-by convection currents (the term thermosiphon is often used to describe that natural flow), with no outside energy. To summarize, Solar energy is absorbed by Brisbane solarenergy collectors, concentrated into a medium, and moved to a heat exchanger or into storage. Finally it gets moved to where needed to heat your home or water for showers and dishes. It would be great to be able to simply open the roof and let in Sunlight-and heat-when needed, and then close up when heat was no longer needed. Some designs do essentially that. The Passive Solar Heating concept lets heat in directly. Chapter Ten has been set aside to note how it's done. In most cases, it entails new construction or extensive remodeling. For existing homes to utilize the Sun's heat, it's more practical to collect it one place and move it to where it's needed. The phenomenon which results in season change is the variation in the angle at which the Sun's rays strike the Earth's surface at different times of the year. That deflection is the reason for the difference between the 429 BTU which reaches the ground in most of the continental United States during the summer, and the 350 BTU which hit us in the winter. In the winter the rays aren't weaker; they're hitting the Earth's surface and upper atmosphere at such an angle that it's easier for the rays to "skip" off into space than to be absorbed. Additionally, the water vapor in the air absorbs some of the sun's heat. We can't do much about the absorption, but we can compensate for I learned about convection currents when I was nine years old. My brother and I went to live with our grandparents on an isolated farm. No electricity. The water heater was a tank that stood beside the furnace in the basement. A pipe ran from the bottom of the tank, into the furnace, up through the firebox, and back into the top of the tank. No pump. A second loop carried water, by gravity, from a big stock tank in the attic where we boys did a hundred strokes on an old pitcher pump twice a day, down through the heater, up into the house. And that water was HOT. The angle at which we meet the energy reaching the Earth's surface by using Brisbane solar energy collectors. As one approaches the Arctic and Antarctic circles most of the energy continues into space, which leaves Solar heating a summer-only proposition. In the continental USA and southern Canada, we compensate by setting the Brisbane solar energy collectors at an angle that allows the rays to strike them perpendicularly. There are formulas for determining the exact angle; however, there's a rule of thumb that's so close you'll want to use it-most solar designers do. It's "latitude plus 150 in the winter, and "latitude minus 150 in the summer. The Canadian-USA border is at 480 latitude. At that line, the angle would be 630 in the winter and 330 in the summer. In a permanent installation anywhere North of 350 latitude a collector will be more efficient if it's vertical than if it's horizontal. As a general rule a non-focusing collector (flat-plate type) is oriented to the south or south-southwest.

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