Common Types of Solar Water Heater Heat Exchangers

Solar water systems use different types of heat exchangers so that a transfer of solar energy to solar collectors is achieved and an air or liquid are...


Solar water systems use different types of heat exchangers so that a transfer of solar energy to solar collectors is achieved and an air or liquid are used in order to heat water or space. Different materials are used for heat exchangers including copper, bronze, steel, stainless steel, aluminum or cast iron. In most cases copper is utilized as it is a really good thermal conductor. It will also provide good levels of corrosion resistance. Let us now think about common types of heat exchangers that you can see.

There are basically two types of heat exchangers: liquid to liquid and air to liquid. A liquid to liquid solar water heater heat exchanger will use heat-transfer fluid. It circulates through a solar collector, absorbs the heat and then goes through the heat exchanger in order to transfer heat towards water held in storage tanks. Different heat transfer fluids can protect collectors from freezing during winter. For a liquid to liquid exchanger to be effective there will be a need to utilize one or 2 good barriers. Any heat exchanger constructed through a system based on 1 wall will have a tube or a pipe that is always surrounded by fluid. A double wall exchanger will have 2 fluids and walls between them. Double walled solar water systems are needed so that safety offered is higher. Unfortunately we can not find a lot of efficiency in them if there is a comparison to single systems. Air heater collectors are included in air to liquid systems. They do not usually need the use of a heat exchanger to be used between air distribution systems and solar collectors. Besides using air and not liquid these two heater systems are really similar.

Sizing is always important whenever you are building solar water heat exchanging systems. All is really effective when you take size into account. Whenever thinking about this topic you need to consider the heat exchanger types, the heat transfer fluid characteristics, flow rates and temperatures for inlet and outlet for the fluids used. Ratings are usually given by most manufacturers for every heat exchanger out there. For you to make really good decisions you should read specifications.

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