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  Fluid circulated through solar thermal collectors can be used to heat water for a variety of purposes. Heated water is most often directly routed to the home's existing water heater; your water heater would provide extra heating if the solar-heated water were not hot enough. Heat from the collectors can also be used to provide hot or warm water to a home's hydronic radiant heating system or swimming pool; your existing boiler is used as a backup heat source. Water heated by the solar thermal system can also be used to provide heat to copper coils in a furnace duct, or to heat a radiator installed in a cold area of your home.  Solar thermal collectors absorb radiant energy from the sun, and transfer the collected heat to an antifreeze fluid. Collectors are framed with rigid black aluminum, and covered with high-transmittance glass. The collectors are fully insulated, and house a copper absorber plate with infused copper tubes. A selective coating is applied to the copper plate and tubes, a material that increases the absorption of sunlight, and reduces re-radiation of the collected heat energy. The collector panels are typically mounted on south facing roof areas, or in shade-free areas on the ground. When the sun shines, a small pump circulates the antifreeze fluid through pipes that connect the collector panels to a solar water storage tank (typically installed in a home's basement).   |