What Does It Cost?

The best news of all is that apart from the initial installation costs, this energy source is practically free. With advances in technology making conversion from source to power far easier, another plus is with regards to solar energy house designs. These now can be styled to suit an individual the house or incorporated into the building plans. Other advantages are that it is eco-friendly and of course money saving. More efficient photovoltaic cells are widely available and Röhrenkollektor batteries are cheaper and more effective at storage. The knock on effect is for easy set-up of more sophisticated systems.

What Preparation Do I Need?

One of the principal things to do before solar thermal power is installed, is to ensure to all roofs and hallways are insulated. Also changing lighting to energy efficient bulbs and learning to turn off appliances at the wall will all contribute to a reduction in the demand to solar energy provision.

Advantages V Disadvantages

Advantages of solar thermal power over other sources of renewable energy are that it has a lower effect on the environment than those such as wind power with it’s blades and noisy rotation and geo thermal plants which need a network of pipes on the ground in order to function.

If your home is in need of re-roofing or other types of maintenance, installation of solar thermal power can be taken advantage of at this time. For this type of power you don’t need to change structure, nor rewire your property. The only necessity is a flat area and a sheltered housing for battery storage, but these measurements are a few feet, nothing more. Assembly of solar panels can be done by the most basic handy person, they are light in weight and easily installed.

On the negative side, there are potential hazards involved with disposal of the storage batteries but if you take care and know how then this should not pose a problem. Upkeep costs are minimal compared with other power generation methods, even those using renewable energy.

Other popular reasons for solar panels are that their appearance is so attractive that solar panel construction plans are now often a routine part of house design to be part of modern architecture, if the buyer so chooses.

Cost of building a solar thermal power system is remarkably low. The obvious goals of incorporating solar energy into house designs are to reduce the energy bills and become self-sufficient with no need of supply from external energy supply.

Is It Reliable?

Solar thermal power has been utilised for years and can function in environments as diverse as Space. Even in the harshest and most isolated places in the world, small scale units can function effectively, they come to life in summer to provide power for communities who live without any other access to energy.

On semi-cloudy days, contrary to belief, enough solar thermal power can be generated to power the average home. Solar thermal power is clean energy with no pollution or other negative environmental effect during operation.

To Conclude

Finally, an increasing number of domestic users choose solar thermal energy as their preferred renewable energy option, due to the increase in demand the price of systems continues to fall.

Becoming more and more efficient, and far easier than ever to install and maintain, suppliers in local areas often have models which can demonstrate the features this type of energy produces, providing inspiring examples.

For the environmentally concerned property owner, or for those purely wanting to save money, solar energy house design is one which will secure an energy source which enables self-sufficiency together with the opportunity to still enjoy the comfort and security of your home for future generations.

How Does Solar Thermal Work?

Solar thermal energy sounds like an attractive proposition, but, for most people, the question they need the answer to first is “How does Solar Thermal Work?”.

The use of solar energy to heat water is not a modern-day concept, and has been used since ancient times in one form or another.

The methods used to harness it have changed over the years, so we’ll give some historical perspective before moving on to look at modern methods of tapping into solar thermal energy and how they work.

It Starts With The Hot Box

Glass and mirrors have been used since ancient times to turn the sun’s energy into heat, but the first practical application was discovered in the mid-18th. century by Swiss scientist Horace de Saussure. De Saussure created a “hot box” which was actually 3 boxes, one inside the other, with wooden sides and bottom and a glass top. He exposed the box to the sun over a period of time, and found the temperature in the innermost box had reached 228 degrees Fahrenheit.

Solar thermal was off to its official start! The 20th century saw William Bailey develop the first solar water heating system in which the heating element was separated from the water tank, allowing greater quantities of heated water to be stored.

Solar Thermal Applications

Solar thermal technology has come a long way over the years and has been a veritable lifeline in many parts of the world where oil and other fossil fuels are in short supply.

Solar thermal is most commonly used to heat water, provide space heating and for heating pools. They all work along the same basic principle and use solar collectors to collect the sun’s heat which heats air or fluid, which is then transferred to water, usually stored in a tank (pool heaters transfer the heat directly to the pool, and some industrial systems use no storage).

A Look At The Applications In More Detail

Solar water heating systems generally consist of a solar collector (usually a flat-plate collector) and a storage tank. The collector uses the sun’s heat to heat either a transfer fluid or water, and hot water is then stored in the tank for later use. About two-thirds of a household’s hot water supply is provided by these systems, with the rest supplied by conventional systems.

Active solar space-heating systems use medium-temperature collectors to absorb the sun’s heat which in turn heats either liquid or air, which is transferred via fans or pumps directly into the building’s heating system or into a storage tank and then into the heating system.

Solar pool heating systems use the pool’s existing filtration system to pump water from the pool through a solar collector to heat the Röhrenkollektoren water, which is transferred directly back to the pool. Solar pool collectors are typically cheaper and are made from materials such as plastic.

Solar thermal energy systems provide a relatively inexpensive way to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel derived energies and, as a result, the size of the energy bills we receive each month.

Now you’ve got some background information on the technology and how the various systems work, why not use this as a stepping stone to do more research and see if this would be a viable alternative for you?

Anything we can do to reduce our energy costs and our carbon footprint has got to be a good thing. Here’s to you and your solar thermal future!