Good owners of private houses are always looking for opportunities to save on water heating and heating costs. This becomes especially relevant in Lately when prices are at public utilities have a strong tendency to grow almost every quarter. Nature itself comes to the rescue with its inexhaustible source of energy - solar radiation. By applying the laws of physics in practice, craftsmen find interesting ways savings by designing and assembling solar collectors, which probably any homeowner can do on their own - you just need to apply a little effort and skill.
solar collector with your own hands can be made in multiple ways and from the most various materials, sometimes even from those that are simply “lying under your feet.” They are constructed from ordinary old beer cans, plastic bottles, hoses or pipes, using glass, polycarbonate panels and other materials.
Some of the methods for making collectors will be discussed below, but first it is worth studying the connection diagrams - they, as a rule, are approximately common for any solar systems heating water.
Solar water collector connection diagrams
The effective operation of a solar water heating system depends not only on what the collector is made of, but also on how correctly it is installed and connected. There are quite a lot of options for connection diagrams, but you shouldn’t look for the most complex ones, since you can quite easily use the basic ones, which are accessible and understandable.
“Summer” option of hot water supply from a solar collector
This simple scheme connecting a solar collector is applicable both for heating water for and for domestic needs. If you need hot water outside summer construction, then the tank for it is also installed in the air. In the case when hot water supply is distributed throughout the house, and the storage tank is installed there.
“Summer” option for connecting the collector This scheme usually involves natural circulation water, and in this case the battery-collector is installed 800 ÷ 1000 mm lower than the level of the tank where the hot water will flow - this should be ensured by the difference in density of the cold and heated liquid. To connect the collector to the tank, pipes with a diameter of at least ¾ inch are used. To keep the water in the storage tank in a hot state, which it will reach from heating by the daytime sun, the walls must be properly insulated, for example, mineral wool 100 mm thick and polyethylene (if there is no roof over the boiler). But it is still better to provide a permanent shelter for the container, since if the insulation gets wet from rain, it will significantly reduce its thermal insulation properties.
Natural circulation is not very good for use in a system with a solar collector, since it creates a weak inertia in the movement of water in the circuit. And if the battery and the tank are far enough from each other, then the water, having passed this path, will gradually cool down. Therefore, to increase efficiency, a circulation system is often installed. This option is suitable for heating water only in the warm half of the year, and in winter the water from the system will have to be drained, otherwise, when it freezes, it will easily burst T t rubles
“Winter” connection diagram for solar water heating
If you plan to use the solar collector all year round, then in order to prevent the water in the pipes from freezing during extreme cold, a special antifreeze, that is, a non-freezing liquid, is poured into the circuit instead. The scheme takes on a completely different form - a boiler is installed indirect heating. In this case, the antifreeze heated in the solar collector will pass through the boiler’s heat exchanger coil, warming the water in the tank.
A “security group” is necessarily built into this system - automatic air vent, pressure gauge and safety valve designed for the required pressure. For constant movement of the coolant, a circulation pump is usually used.
Solar heating option
When using solar thermal energy for heating a house, an indirect heating boiler connected to the collector is also used, as well as for additional heating of the coolant - one that runs on solid fuel or gas. On autumn or spring days, when the sun can heat the coolant to desired temperature, the boiler can simply be turned off.
Solar collector - good help and for heating the house If the winters in the region are very cold, then you should not expect great efficiency from the collector, since during this period there are few sunny days, and the star itself is low to the horizon. Therefore, additional heating of the coolant and hot water simply necessary. The only way a solar battery will help you save on fuel is that the boiler will receive not cold, but already somewhat heated water, which means you will need to burn less gas or wood to bring it to the desired temperature.
You also need to know that the larger the solar thermal collector is, the more energy it will be able to absorb. Therefore, in order for such a system to generate enough heat to heat a house, the size of the collector area must be increased to 40÷45% of total area Houses.
Option for hot water supply and heating from a solar collector
To use a solar collector for both heating and hot water supply, it is necessary to combine both previous options in the system, and use a special boiler for water with an additional tank having a coil through which the coolant heated by the solar battery circulates. Due to the fact that the internal tank is much smaller than the main one, the water in it heats up from the coil much faster and transfers heat to the general tank.
The collector can be included in common system"heating - hot water supply" In addition, the boiler must be connected to an additional heating source - this can be either an electric boiler or a solid fuel heat generator.
The temperature instability created by the solar battery can contribute to overheating of the coolant or, conversely, to its too rapid cooling in the heating and water supply circuits. To prevent this from happening, the entire system must be controlled automatically. Installed in the wiring controller temperature, which can either redirect coolant flows, or turn circulation pumps on or off, or perform other control operations.
In the diagram presented above, such a temperature controller is designated as a regulator.
So, with the connection diagrams (piping) in general outline there is clarity. But now it makes sense to consider several options for making solar collectors yourself.
Prices for solar collectors
Solar collectors
Solar collector made from a hose or flexible pipe
Those who have a private house with a garden or dacha, of course, they know that the water remaining in temporary light lines after watering the beds quickly heats up. This positive quality hoses or flexible pipes and were used by folk craftsmen, creating solar heat exchangers from them. It should be noted that such a collector will cost many times less than one bought in a store, but for the manufacturing process to be successful, some effort must be made.
On the roof there is a whole battery of solar collectors Such a manifold may consist of one or several sections into which hoses tightly coiled in a spiral “snail” are laid and secured.
"Snail" - heat exchanger This design can be called the simplest, both in design and installation. Its main disadvantage is that it practically cannot be used without the use of forced circulation, since if the pipe contours are too long, the hydraulic resistance will exceed the pressure force created by the temperature difference. However, to resolve the installation issue circulation pump– it’s not difficult at all. And such a system installed in country house, will be an excellent help and will quickly pay for itself, including the costs (very minor) of powering the pump.
Similar collectors are also used to heat water in swimming pools. They are connected to a filtration system, which is necessarily equipped with a pump. Water, circulating through the collector pipes, has time to heat up before entering the pool.
In some cases By creating the entire system, you can do without installation storage tank. This is possible when hot water is used only during the day and in small quantities. For example, in a circuit of 150 m of pipe having inner diameter 16 mm, holds 30 liters of water. And if five or six such “snails” from pipes are collected into a single battery, then during the day each family member can take a shower several times, and there will still be a lot of hot water left for household needs.
If anyone has any doubts about the effectiveness of such water heating, we recommend watching a video that shows testing a hose collector:
Video: efficiency of a simple solar collector
Materials for production
To make such a solar water collector, you need to prepare some materials. It is not at all impossible that some of them will be found in a barn or garage.
- A rubber hose or a flexible black plastic pipe with a diameter of 20 ÷ 25 mm is essentially the main element of the system in which heat exchange will occur during water circulation. The quantity of hose will depend on the size solar battery- it can be 100 or 1000 meters. The black color of the hose is preferable because it absorbs heat more than all other shades.
It should immediately be noted that metal-plastic pipes are not particularly suitable for making a collector, even if they are coated with black paint. The fact is that their plasticity in this case is insufficient - they break when bending a small radius and thus, even if the integrity of the walls is not violated, the intensity of the water flow will decrease.
Hoses are sold in coils of 50, 100 or 200 meters. If you plan to make a large-volume battery, you will have to purchase several bays. If you plan to use, for example, 50 or 100 m of hose in each section, then you should not buy a whole 200-meter coil, it is better to purchase a ready-made measured hose. This will help save time during installation.
The hose can be laid not only in a round spiral, but also oval, and also in the form of a coil.
As a good alternative, you can try modern PEX cross-linked polyethylene pipes. They have good plasticity, but it’s not hard to figure out how to give them black color if it’s not on sale.
- If the slope of the roof on which the collector battery will be installed is steep, then special boxes are made from bars, plywood or metal sheets for the hose spirals. To do this you will need bars 40×40 or 40×50 mm, plywood 6 mm thick, or a metal sheet in 1.5–2 mm.
The blanks of the future module are treated (wood) or with anti-corrosion compounds (metal). Then a box is assembled from them into one or more spirals.
By the way, you can use old ones as the sides of the box window frames, on which it is simply mounted bottom part.
- For pre-treatment of metal and wood, it is necessary to purchase antiseptic, anti-corrosion and primer compounds.
- Hoses (pipes) will experience considerable loads both from the mass of the coolant and from temperature changes and internal pressure. Therefore, they will try to disrupt the installation, deform, and sag, so it is necessary to provide special fastenings to maintain them in the initially specified position.
This can be a metal strip that is secured between the pipes with self-tapping screws.
Another option is a loose bundle with a tight cord or a plastic clamp-“tie” with a cross or crossbar. But still, this fastening method is more suitable for a plastic pipe than for a hose, since it can sag on the cord when the rubber expands. If a reinforced rubber hose is chosen for the collector, then this method is quite suitable for fixation.
Another fastening option suitable for a plastic pipe or reinforced hose can be nails with wide heads. They can be driven either into the bottom of the box (in this case it must have a thickness of at least 10 mm), or onto a kind of cross made of a block.
- It will also be necessary to prepare connecting elements for the hose or pipes. There are quite a lot of varieties of such fittings, but you need to choose exactly those that are intended for the one selected for production material collector.
In addition to such connectors, you will need threaded fittings to switch from plastic or rubber pipe to general metal. Such a connection will be necessary if the collector consists of several modules.
To know how many connecting elements are required, you need to draw in advance schematic diagram the system being created and calculate their number on it.
- To combine all modules into a single battery, two collector - cut metal pipe. Through one of them, fixed at the bottom of the battery, the heat exchangers will receive cold water, and in the second, fixed on top, the warmed food will be collected.
The upper pipe will connect to the storage tank, that is, go to the consumer. It should have a diameter of 40 ÷ 50 mm.
Battery installation
Having prepared everything you need, you can start working.
- First you need to process antiseptic all wooden parts of the future structure.
- Next, if the bottom of the modules is made of metal sheet, it must be coated with an anti-corrosion compound. Typically, mastic designed to cover the undersides of cars is used for this.
Known to all motorists, “anticorrosive” is what you need - After the compositions have dried on the prepared elements, single or common modules are assembled from them.
- Then the hoses are laid in them, for which the holders are secured.
- To allow pipes to pass freely through the sides of the modules, holes are drilled for them - in the upper and lower parts. Accordingly, the cold water inlet pipe is led into the lower hole, and the heated water outlet into the upper hole.
- If several modules are mounted vertically, or one common one, into which several pipe “snails” are also placed, one above the other, then the lower end of each of the spirals is connected to the upper outlet of the underlying one - and according to this sequential principle, the entire “column” is switched. The lowest end is connected to a common metal collector through which cold water will flow. All adjacent vertical rows are mounted in the same way - with general connection to the supply manifold.
- Accordingly, the upper ends of the hoses of the uppermost horizontal row of modules are connected to a metal collector pipe through which hot water is discharged for consumption.
- The spiral-shaped collector circuit can also be mounted on a metal sheet installed not on the roof, but near the house, on its southern side, or near the pool, if it requires heating. In this case, the metal base will contribute to faster heating of water and heat retention in the pipes, since it has good thermal conductivity and heat capacity.
- Another option for a thermal solar collector can be laying the circuit on the roof plane in special boxes in long parallel rows along the entire length of the roof.
Prices for cross-linked polyethylene pipes
XLPE pipes
Video: a simple solar collector with a linear pipe arrangement
We enhance the effect with plastic bottles
The figure shows a solar collector made of hoses (pipes), the efficiency of which is significantly increased through the use of ordinary plastic bottles. What's the "trick" here? And there are several of them at once:
The effect of a plastic bottle as a casing - schematically - The bottles act as a transparent casing and prevent air flows from taking away heat during absolutely unnecessary mutual heat exchange. Moreover, the air chambers themselves become a kind of heat accumulators. On the face - Greenhouse effect, which is actively used in agricultural technology.
- The rounded surface of the bottle acts as a lens, enhancing the effect of sunlight.
- If the bottom surface of the bottle is lined with reflective foil material, you can achieve the effect of focusing the rays in the area where the pipe passes. Heating will only benefit from this.
- Another important factor. The plastic transparent surface will to some extent reduce the destructive negative impact ultraviolet rays, which neither rubber nor plastic “like.” This circuit should last longer.
To make such a solar collector you will need:
1 – Rubber hose, black metal or plastic pipes – as a heat exchanger.
2 – Plastic bottles that will become a casing around the circuit pipes.
3 - In the bottles, in their half, which will be adjacent to the base, foil or other reflective material can be inserted. The reflective part should face the direction of the sun.
4 – It will be quite easy to mount the stand from a block or metal pipe.
5 - Storage tank for heated water, which must be connected to the point of collection - tap, shower, etc.
6 - A container for cold water that can be connected to the water supply system.
Solar collector installation
Assembly of the version shown in top diagram, is done as follows:
- To begin with, a stand is mounted from a metal pipe or bar. If it is made of wood, then it must be coated with an antiseptic composition, but if it is made of metal, then it must be treated with an anti-corrosion agent. It is necessary to calculate the length so that an even number of bottles are installed between the two racks.
- On racks, at a distance width of the bottles, horizontal strips are fixed on which additional fastening for the coil can be made. In addition, they will give the frame additional rigidity.
- Next, we prepare required quantity plastic bottles - the bottom part is cut off from them so that one bottle, with the side of the neck, fits tightly into the resulting hole.
- Take a hose (pipe) of the required length, which will be sufficient for installation coil circuit on a ready-made frame-stand.
Stepping back 100 ÷ 150 mm from the edge of the hose, mark the place where it is attached. Then through this edge it is put on the pipe required amount prepared bottles, which will be enough to completely cover the area up to the opposite counter. The bottles are placed tightly next to each other, so that the neck of the second one fits into the hole cut in the bottom of the previous one.
- When the pipe section to be laid upper section the coil will be completely covered by a box of bottles, its edge is fixed on top of the left post of the frame. For fastening, you can use clip holders for plastic pipes with a latch, the right size.
- If necessary, the position of the bottles is adjusted so that the foil half of them is at the bottom, near the collector frame.
- The pipe is then given a smooth turn and snapped back onto the clip.
- The next step is to put bottles on the pipe again, and it is fixed to the left rack. This pattern is continued until the entire frame is filled with the collector coil.
- Now all that remains is to “pack” the fittings through which the resulting collector will be connected to the cold water supply and to the hot storage tank.
This is what can happen in the end - it couldn’t be simpler! Such a collector, as can be seen, absolutely not complicated in manufacturing, but it can become a good “helper” in a private home, taking on the functions of heating water.
By the way, solar energy can be used not only to heat water, but also to supply heated air to rooms. For example, you can find out how to make it yourself by following the link to a special publication on our portal.
Video - DIY solar power plant assembly
Engineers from the distant Argentine province of Tucuman have developed a simple and cheap solar water heater from several dozen plastic bottles. And they wrote detailed instructions, which became so popular that it was used by thousands of people from different parts of the Spanish-speaking world.
This device will absolutely freely provide 80 liters of warm water to a family of 4 people. And all you need for this: 6 plastic bottles and 2 meters of hose.
Step-by-step instructions on how to make a solar water heater from plastic bottles
1. Collect at least 30 soft disposable 1-1.5 liter bottles and remove the label.
2. Buy in the store 12 meters of black irrigation hose (precisely black) 2 cm in diameter, 8 “T-shaped” adapters and two elbows, a roll of Teflon and two ball valves 2 cm in diameter.
3. At the base of each bottle we make holes equal to the diameter of the hole in the neck. You can use a drill, or you can use a hot screwdriver.
Then we thread the bottles onto the hose so that there are 6 bottles per row. You should have 5 rows of bottles with a hose length of 2 meters.
4. Connect the hoses with T-shaped adapters.
5. We lay out the entire structure in a box insulated with foam plastic and connect it with pipes to an 80-liter barrel. (For a better thermal effect, you can cover the box with foil. And you can cover plastic bottles matte paint from a can.)
6. We position the collector at an angle of 45 degrees on the south side of the roof. (For wind protection, you can cover the collector with glass and transparent polycarbonate.)
Pour in water and... voila! After just 15 minutes, the water in the tubes will heat up to a temperature of 45-50 degrees and begin to circulate according to the thermosiphon principle. To store warm water, you can use a 200-liter barrel, which can be insulated.
Engineers from the distant Argentine province of Tucuman have developed a simple and cheap solar water heater from several dozen plastic bottles. And they wrote detailed instructions, which became so popular that they were used by thousands of people from different parts of the Spanish-speaking world.
This device will absolutely freely provide 80 liters of warm water to a family of 4 people. And all you need for this: 6 plastic bottles and 2 meters of hose.
Step-by-step instructions on how to make a solar water heater from plastic bottles
1. Collect at least 30 soft disposable 1-1.5 liter bottles and remove the label.2. Buy in the store 12 meters of black irrigation hose (precisely black) 2 cm in diameter, 8 “T-shaped” adapters and two elbows, a roll of Teflon and two ball valves 2 cm in diameter.
3. At the base of each bottle we make holes equal to the diameter of the hole in the neck. You can use a drill, or you can use a hot screwdriver.
Then we thread the bottles onto the hose so that there are 6 bottles per row. You should have 5 rows of bottles with a hose length of 2 meters.
4. Connect the hoses with T-shaped adapters.
5. We lay out the entire structure in a box insulated with foam plastic and connect it with pipes to an 80-liter barrel. (For a better thermal effect, you can cover the box with foil. Or you can cover it with matte spray paint.)
6. We position the collector at an angle of 45 degrees on the south side of the roof. (For wind protection, you can cover the collector with glass and transparent polycarbonate.)
Pour in water and... voila! In just 15 minutes
About solar water heaters (solar water collectors) in general...
The vast majority of summer residents would like to have a shower with solar heated water at their dacha. But things usually don’t go beyond a primitive barrel installed on the roof of a shower stall. 99% don’t think of building even the simplest frame around this barrel and covering it plastic film(which would increase the use solar energy at least 2 times! Try entering a closed film greenhouse on a sunny day!). The most advanced ones insert a heating element (thermoelectric heater) into this barrel and diligently heat the atmosphere with it.
Meanwhile, probably every schoolchild knows that for every square meter surface perpendicular to the sun's rays, 600-1000 watts of energy fall per hour! Well, it’s just a sin not to use it summer time! It’s especially nice to take a shower before bed after a hot day, and it doesn’t hurt to freshen up during the day. But not ice water from a well or a well.
Those who have been to Greece or Italy have probably noticed that almost every house has a solar collector-water heater. Although their structure is quite simple in principle, there are many nuances in their operation. For example, a constant supply of water, thermal insulation of a storage tank, organization of water circulation between the tank and the collector itself, etc.
But self-production Such systems are extremely labor-intensive and expensive, and in general, with an amateurish approach, they promise more trouble than benefits.
In fact, it is necessary to make a sealed collector, organize water circulation and its regular replenishment, and avoid mixing already heated water with fresh cold water. And for the winter, drain the whole thing (we don’t have Greece here with +12 in January). And for what? Tolley's business is dear iron barrel! Filled it up - it warmed up, drained it for the winter - no problem. So what if it only works 10-15 times a year... But without any hassle.
It’s all these problems that keep summer residents from creating a normal and efficient solar collector for a water heater.
But it seems to me that when using plastic bottles, many problems are solved. All the “charms” of the simplicity of a primitive “barrel” solar water heater remain and the advantages of a real collector with water circulation are added. And these advantages will become obvious as we describe the water heater.
Solar water heater collector made from plastic bottles.
There is no need to explain to you what a plastic PET bottle is. Any transparent soda bottle is suitable for the solar collector. drinking water. Although I don’t know, I haven’t experimented with dark bottles.
If you pour water into such a bottle and place it in the sun, the water in it will heat up quite quickly. But the bottle has a very limited volume! 2-2.5 liters maximum. To take a decent shower, you need at least 50-60 liters, preferably more than 100.
The main problem of creating a solar water heater is connecting many plastic bottles into a single container and organizing them to have some kind of flow! So that cold water can flow into them, and warm water can flow out. Having solved this problem, we simply get a small transparent tank that perfectly heats water using solar energy. Taking, for example, 100 such mini-reservoirs, i.e. bottles, we will already get 200 liters of warm water!
At first I wanted to organize the flow of the bottle by creating a special stopper. For example, with coaxial tubes. It flows into one and flows out into the other. But making a mass of such tubes (for example, 100 or 200) is no easier than creating a normal classic solar collector. Therefore, I decided to go a different route - by connecting bottles and creating a kind of transparent pipe from them, which will be both a reservoir and a collector itself. Well, like a barrel, only flat and transparent.
Having measured the diameter of the thread on the neck of the bottle, I selected a drill that would be used to drill a hole in the bottom of another bottle. The best drill was a hole saw for drilling holes. large diameter for wood by 26 mm (sets of such files are available in abundance and cost 70-100 rubles). With this diameter, the neck of the bottle is screwed quite tightly into the hole in the bottom of the other. Sometimes you have to work with a large round file. Yes, and first it is advisable to drill a hole strictly in the center of the bottle with a regular 6-8 mm drill. I will say that this is not easy to do, because... It is in the center of the bottom that there is a very hard and smooth tide - a pimple. Therefore, for the mass precision drilling It would be better to make a simple template so that the drill does not wander.
The next problem was the sealing issue. Generally speaking, nothing seems to stick or stick to PET. But it turned out that this was not entirely true. Even with drilled hole, the bottom of the bottle retained absolute rigidity, and this gave hope for the use of silicone sealants. After thoroughly degreasing the surfaces with acetone, I coated the threads of the bottle and screwed it into the bottom. And then I generously covered the joint with sealant from the outside as well. To be safe, I left the bottles motionless for 3 days (the fermentation rate of the sealant is 3-4 mm/day, as stated in the instructions).
Since I was just going to work out the technology and conduct an experiment, I limited myself to connecting only 3 bottles in series.
The tightness of the joints turned out to be absolute! In the photo, the water bottles are lying on cardboard and as you can see, there are no water drips! By the way, the silicone stuck to the PET so much that you couldn’t pick it off with a knife!
During the day in the sun (or rather, in just a few hours), the water heated up perfectly even without any additional tricks. Thus, a certain conventional cell of the collector - water heater was obtained, with dimensions of 0.1 meters (bottle diameter) by 1 meter (bottle length approx. 35 cm). Those. The collector area was 0.1 kiloV. meter, and the capacity is approx. 6 liters. It is easy to calculate that per 1 kiloV. A meter will fit approximately 10 such modules, the capacity of which will be 60 liters of water. The sun will pour almost a kilowatt of energy onto these 60 liters of water every hour! Not only can you heat this water, you can boil it! Well, of course, it will never boil, if only because of heat loss. But you can heat 60 liters of water to 40-45 degrees 2-3 times exactly. Which is more than enough for country needs.
Now about the water heater project itself.
For example, we make 10-20 such modules and the length is not 3, but 5-6 bottles (in general, as long as the roof area facing south allows). You can, of course, use hoses to organize full flow of all modules, but I think this is pointless. Because anyway, all the water is heated at the same time and receives the same amount of heat at any point in the collector. Therefore, we will connect our modules in parallel! And we will use it in barrel mode: poured - heated - used (or poured into a thermally insulated storage tank).
To connect all our modules in parallel, you will need a pipe of fairly large diameter (50 millimeters, or better yet 100, for example, polypropylene). All modules crash into it in the same way as bottles are joined together in a module. Perhaps it will be possible to do it simpler. Having glued or screwed a bottle cap to the pipe with a self-tapping screw and ensuring a tight seal, drill a hole in the cap (and the pipe at the same time) and simply screw the module into the cap.
The modules, of course, must be located at an angle ( down side facing south, common pipe at the lowest point of the collector). In the topmost bottle of the module you need to drill a small hole, 2-3 mm. Install a valve on both sides of the pipe. Supply water to one of them (for example, from a pump or water tank, in the figure Vent.2). And the other valve will be collapsible, warm water will drain through it (in the picture Vent. 1).
The solar water heater collector works as follows. Valve 1 is closed, and we begin to fill the collector with water by opening valve 2. Water fills the bottles from the bottom up. The air then comes out of the holes at the top of the modules. Of course, as in communicating vessels, the water level in the modules is the same.
Having visually determined that the bottles are full, we close valve 2 and the water heater starts working.
If we need warm water, we open valve 1 and the heated water begins to flow out of the collapsible pipe.
That's all. Everything is exactly the same as in a barrel, only such a collector will heat water an order of magnitude more efficiently than a barrel, due to its large area.
A little about the design.
Of course, it is advisable to place the modules in a “box” to add rigidity to the structure. It is advisable to make the bottom of the box from a dark material that absorbs Sun rays. For example, smoking a sheet of iron. It would be nice to place a heat insulator under the sheet, for example thin foam or foamed polyethylene (“penoplex”). Cover the top of the box with plastic wrap or glass to prevent the wind from cooling the bottles.
The angle of inclination is minimal, 10-20-30 degrees, no more. Firstly, in the summer it is the most optimal angle tilt relative to the Sun (almost perpendicular), and in winter this collector is not used. Secondly, this will ensure a minimum drop in water pressure (height of the water column), which is important when there are many bottle joints. Although during testing I placed my 3-bottle module even vertically and it “kept” a pressure of 0.1 atm, I would not take risks during operation.
The size of the entire water heater is up to the taste of the creator. For 200 liters you will need approx. 110 bottles, which will take up an area of approx. 3 kiloV.meters. True, the power of such a heater will already be approximately 3 kW!
You can use the heater in the “pour-pour” mode. Or you can arrange a thermally insulated storage tank for warm water next to it. On a good sunny day, a 2-meter, excuse me, 2-kilowatt water heater will heat you half a ton of water.
Such a water heater is not afraid of frost (except for the water shut-off valves), and the sun is not afraid of it either (PET does not decompose well in the sun).
Of course, such a solar water heater also has disadvantages (for example, poor automation), but a lot of it pays off because it is practically free. Judge for yourself what the money will be spent on here. Well, a pipe, a couple of valves and 2-3 tubes silicone sealant 45-50 rub/piece. And you will receive water bottles as a bonus when purchasing water in the store. By involving your acquaintances in collecting them, by the next season you will have collected several dozen, or even hundreds of bottles and will be able to make yourself a very decent and productive solar water heater. Total: 300-500 rubles maximum (!!!), and you hot water all season!
Konstantin Timoshenko, www.delaysam.ru
Ecology of consumption. Science and technology: Imagine a solar collector made from plastic bottles. It can help disadvantaged communities gain reliable source energy and at the same time a waste recycling system.
Imagine a solar collector made from plastic bottles. It can help disadvantaged communities gain a reliable source of energy and, at the same time, a recycling system.
Such a project was implemented in Garina, a town 40 kilometers north of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. There is a group of volunteers called "Sumando Energias" who are trying to equip poor people with solar energy systems for heating water.
“This is a poor area and sometimes we don’t have electricity. No water. This a solar panel made from recycled material helps a lot, because we have children... This is how we get warm water when we don’t have electricity,” says a local resident.
How does this system work? She is brilliant and simple at the same time. It is made from used drink bottles, plastic containers and milk cartons after they have been processed.
The sun heats the solar energy receiver, hot water flows into the container. Volunteers painted the pipes black to attract solar radiation. The collector maintains the temperature of the heated water all night, without gas or electric heating.
“In my opinion, rational environmental development is an important trend in which we must develop. We throw away too much today, and not just in developing countries. I believe that developed countries should also follow the path of thoughtful development. Developed countries are the largest polluters,” says Julien Laurenson, a participant in the Sumando Energias project.
A third of Argentines live below the poverty line. Almost 17% of the population lacks water, says a study by the Argentine Statistics Agency last September.
The project provides access to renewable energy to poor people and could significantly improve the living conditions of the South American people with large natural resources. With more and more volunteers, Sumando Energias hopes to build panels for 3,000 families a year.
“Argentina has huge potential for solar and wind energy. To explain better: if we had the same opportunities as in Germany, in the province of Santa Cruz - in Buenos Aires or in the north, where there is a lot of sun, we could produce energy and provide it not only to Argentina, but also to neighboring country,” says Pablo Castano, co-founder of Sumando Energias.
Since 2014, the non-governmental organization has installed 36 panels and offers two-day training for those who want to learn the technology of recycling salvaged materials into solar heaters. Volunteers involve local families in the process of building the mechanism and teach them how to recycle waste.
“There are such things, garbage that we throw away, and it pollutes environment, but we can use it for practical purposes, for example, for hot water in the house. It is very good to recycle waste. I've never done this before. I just threw everything away, bottles and stuff. Previously, garbage stood in plastic bags for a long time, because the municipal service did not come to pick it up,” says Angel Guelari, a resident of Garin.
Argentina appears to be on the right track. In 2005, Buenos Aires became the first Latin American city to vote for a "No Waste" policy. The Argentine capital has pledged to recycle between 4 and 5,000 tons of trash that people throw away every day. published