Solar Home Heating

Solar heating is one of the most efficient ways of using solar energy for your home.The 2 main ways to heat your home with solar energy are passive heating,using space heating,and active solar heating using distribution agents such as water or air.

Water and air as distribution mediums present a huge advantage by allowing solar energy collection,using solar collectors,to heat specific parts of your household,using a distribution network of pipes .

With the help of the distribution pipes you can easily heat any room in your building,or use it to heat water for everyday use.

How Home Solar Heating Works

A good example of natural solar heating would be a very hot summer day..Lets say you have a car parked out in open sunshine on such a day..After a few hours of solar exposure the chassis of the car will turn very hot.

But if you leave a white car in the same spot it would be significantly cooler to the touch.

In short,the basic principle of solar heating is that black surfaces heat up very fast when exposed to the sun

Heating Water With Solar Energy

A very easy,and effective way to heat water with solar energy in your home is by creating a solar water heater,or thermo siphon.

A thermo siphon consists of a sizeable tank full of water which is to be a thermal store.

The tank needs to be really well insulated so we don't lose any energy accumulated through the solar collectors.

The water inside the tank needs to be stratified by using a gradient fill,warm water should beat the top of the tank while cold water in the bottom.

A coil resides in the bottom of the tank designed to heat the cold water.The coil is usually a copper pipe that's connected in a closed circuit with a solar collector,it enters the tank at the bottom from the solar collector and exits at the top for distribution.The closed circuit tube is filled with a conductive fluid which allows heat to be transferred along from the solar panel inside the tank.

A pump can also be inserted in to the circuit for improved heat transfer.To drive this pump you could use photovoltaic solar cells .