Solar water heaters are an incredibly cost effective way to heat water for your home. Some people also call them solar domestic hot water systems, and believe it or not, they might not be as hard to understand as you might think.

 They can be used anywhere in the world, and the best part is that the energy they use is free!  Solar power enery can be used on a wide range from the individual objects to a large business or home solar power.

A solar water heater is made up of storage tanks and solar collectors. The storage tanks are usually well insulated, and have an additional outlet and inlet. Some systems use two tanks, while others simply use one with a backup heater. There are two types of solar water heaters, and these are active and passive systems. An active system has pumps and controls that circulate the water, while passive systems do not.

There are three types of the solar collector that are generally used for residential solar water heaters. A flat plate collector is a weatherproofed box that is insulated and contains a dark plate (absorber plate). An integral collector-storage system, also known as a batch system, has one or more black tubes or tanks that are housed in a glazed, insulated box. This system, however, should not be installed in a climate that could cause it to freeze, as this could damage the pipes and tanks. The third type is called an evacuated-tube solar collector, and is made of a parallel row or rows of glass tubes. These tubes are transparent, and each one contains a metal absorber tube that is attached to a sort of fin. The coating on this “fin” helps to absorb solar energy without radiating the heat out.

There are several types of solar water heaters, ranging from complex and expensive to cheap and simple. One thing that owners of a solar water heater will tell you is how much they save on their energy bill! Heating water and heating space inside a house are considered the two most expensive needs on our energy bill, and if the sun will take care of your water, than imagine how much you could cut your bill! Even the simplest of solar power systems warms the water before it goes through the traditional heater, so you don’t replace your regular heater, you are just sending already-warmed water through it, causing it to do less heating and you to save more money! So, why wait! Go pick up a solar water heater today!