Solar Energy has many application that function with the use of water.

Some examples that we look closer at below.

• Use a Solar Panel(s) to operate a pump to water livestock or provide water of a garden or green house in locations where power is not available.

• One of the primary use of water with Solar Energy is for providing or augmenting building and other heating situations.
  

Solar Water Heating

Also note the cost of solar energy is FREE, natural gas and electrical costs do not include the costs of the equipment,
which we are including in our solar costs.

Our WSE47 solar panels in Saskatchewan produce over 120 million btu's of heat over its life time, 6 million btu per year or 2,200 btu per hour, pretty amazing considering the cost under $400

The WSE57 pressurized heating panels puts out over 2600 btu per hour and is in the final testing for Canadian certification which qualifies for up to 50%for rebates.

• Complete system warranty 5 years
• The collector tubes come with a
  15 year warranty.
• WSE backs this up with a one year money back guarantee
• WSE Solar evacuated tube collectors offer reliable hot water heating for Canada.

Thermal conduction and convection losses are almost nothing (under 2%) because of the vacuum gap. This design allows the system to work in very low temperatures (down to about -70°F).

Our evacuated tubes have a number of advantages: the work on overcast days, in -60 degree weather, and the tubes can be installed and replaced individually without special tools. The evacuated tubes act like giant thermos, allowing 95% of the sun's radiation in, but only 3 to 5% out.

We do not recommend our flat plate panels if you plan to heat during the winter months, basically they have no insulation factor, like trying to heat your house in the winter with single pane windows.

Popular applications of our solar water heating panels include

• Solar Water Heating Systems for Garage or Shed
• Solar Domestic Water Heating
• Solar Heating whether radiator or floor heating
• Solar heating Commercial and Warehouse building
• Solar Heating swimming pools, jacuzzis or the like
• Pressurized Solar heating
• Solar Heating some crazy idea ( these are the most fun)

Each evacuated tube consists of two glass tubes made from extremely strong borosilicate glass. The outer tube is transparent allowing light rays to pass through with minimal reflection. The inner tube is coated with a special selective coating (Al-N/Al) which features excellent solar radiation absorption and minimal reflection properties. The top of the two tubes are fused together and the air contained in the space between the two layers of glass is pumped out while exposing the tube to high temperatures. This "evacuation" of the gasses forms a vacuum, which is an important factor in the performance of the evacuated tubes.

Why a vacuum? As you would know if you have used a glass lined thermos flask, a vacuum is an excellent insulator. This is important because once the evacuated tube absorbs the radiation from the sun and converts it to heat, we don't want to lose it!! The vacuum helps to achieve this. The insulation properties are so good that while the inside of the tube may be 150oC / 304oF , the outer tube is cold to touch. This means that evacuated tube water heaters can perform well even in cold weather when flat plate collectors perform poorly due to heat loss (during high Delta-T conditions).

In order to maintain the vacuum between the two glass layers, a barium getter is used (the same as in television tubes). During manufacture of the evacuated tube this getter is exposed to high temperatures which causes the bottom of the evacuated tube to be coated with a pure layer of barium. This barium layer actively absorbs any CO, CO2, N2, O2, H2O and H2 out-gassed from the evacuated tube during storage and operation, thus helping to maintaining the vacuum. The barium layer also provides a clear visual indicator of the vacuum status. The silver coloured barium layer will turn white if the vacuum is ever lost. This makes it easy to determine whether or not a tube is in good condition.

Evacuated tubes are aligned in parallel, the angle of mounting depends upon the latitude of your location.

In a North South orientation the tubes can passively track heat from the sun all day. In an East West orientation they can track the sun all year round.

Important Things You should know

Active systems use electric pumps, valves, and controllers to circulate water or other heat-transfer fluids through the collectors. They are usually more expensive than passive systems but generally more efficient. Active systems are often easier to retrofit than passive systems because their storage tanks do not need to be installed above or close to the collectors. If installed using a PV panel to operate the pump, an active system can operate even during a power outage.

Open-Loop Active Systems
Open-loop active systems use pumps to circulate household potable water through the collectors. This design is efficient and lowers operating costs but is not appropriate if water is hard or acidic because scale and corrosion will gradually disable the system. Open-loop active systems are popular in regions that do not experience subzero temperatures. Flat plate open-loop systems should never be installed in climates that experience sustained periods of subzero temperatures. Solar water heater can be installed in an open loop in areas that experience sub-zero temperatures as long as the solar controller has a low temperature fuction.

Closed-Loop Active Systems
These systems pump heat-transfer fluids (usually a glycol-water antifreeze mixture) through the solar water heater. Heat exchangers transfer the heat from the fluid to the water that is stored in tanks. Double-walled heat exchangers or twin coil solar tanks prevent contamination of household water. Some standards require double walls when the heat-transfer fluid is anything other than household water. Closed-loop glycol systems are popular in areas subject to extended subzero temperatures because they offer good freeze protection. However, glycol antifreeze systems are more expensive to purchase and install and the glycol must be checked each year and changed every few years, depending on glycol quality and system temperatures.

Drainback systems use water as the heat-transfer fluid in the collector loop. A pump circulates the water through the solar water heater. When the pump is turned off, the solar water heater drains of water, which ensures freeze protection and also allows the system to turn off if the water in the storage tank becomes too hot. A problem with drainback systems is that the solar water heater installation and plumbing must be carefully positioned to allow complete drainage. The pump must also have sufficient head pressure to pump the water up to the collector each time the pump starts. Electricity usage is therefore slightly higher than a sealed closed or open loop.

Passive Systems

Passive systems move household water or a heat-transfer fluid through the system without pumps. Passive systems have the advantage that electricity outage and electric pump breakdown are not issues. This makes passive systems generally more reliable, easier to maintain, and possibly longer lasting than active systems. Passive systems are often less expensive than active systems, but are also generally less efficient due to slower water flow rates through the system.

Thermosiphon Systems
A thermosiphon system relies on warm water rising, a phenomenon known as natural convection, to circulate water through the solar absorber and to the tank. In this type of installation, the tank must be located above the absorber tubes/panel. As water in the absorber heats, it becomes lighter and naturally rises into the tank above. Meanwhile, cooler water in the tank flows downwards into the absorber, thus causing circulation throughout the system. This system is widely used with both flat plate and evacuated tube absorbers. The disadvantages of this design are the poor aesthetics of having a large tank on the roof and the isses with structural integrity of the roof. Often the roof must be reinforced to cope with the weight of the tank.

Batch Heaters
Batch heaters are simple passive system consisting of one or more storage tanks placed in an insulated box that has a glazed side facing the sun. Batch heaters are inexpensive and have few components, but only perform well in summer when the weather is warm. Evacuated tube solar collectors are now an affordable and much more efficient alternative to either batch or flat plate collectors.

Solar Water Pumping

Typical applications:

• To pump water for delivery to livestock where the grid is not readily available and a reliable low maintenance system is required.
• To pump large volumes of water or water from deep wells where mechanical pumps are not adequate.
• To pump water from a dugout to a livestock waterer for livestock.
• To pump water for crop irrigation
• Pond management
• As a portable water pumping system

Range of possible dimensions and sizing considerations for the system:

The main components of a solar water pumping system are the photovoltaic array (solar panel), and the pump. Pump size and type will depend on the amount of water required (litres per day), total head required (amount of pressure pump must create). Pumps can be above the water or submersible, AC or DC. Size of the array will depend on the pump chosen, amount of water required, climate and solar exposure, whether or not the panels are placed on a tracker or a fixed mount.

Other considerations in designing a system include the cold water intake temperature, desired hot water temperature, pattern of hot water use. Solar water pumping systems can be designed with or without storage. Batteries and or elevated water tanks/fenced in ponds are common storage.

Solar panels:

The amount of power required will depend on the amount of water required daily. For example, assuming 10 percent losses of energy from wiring and the controller to the pump, 165 watts could power an efficient 150 watt DC solar pump could pump over 1300 litres of water in 4 hours of direct sunlight.

Storage:

Deep cycle batteries are recommended for systems and batteries designed specifically to work with systems are available. Battery capacity is measured in amp hours. Most deep cycle batteries have efficiencies of about 80% depending on temperature.