This was another product that I did not know existed. A company by the name of Therma-Coil has designed a water heating attachment that can fit inside your woodstove. It is a stainless steel heat exchanger that connects to a water heater.
I'm not so sure it's a good idea to modify a woodstove as suggested, I'm thinking whoever insures your house would have something to say about it, not to mention voiding the warranty on the stove.
It's an idea that's worth looking into as it provides an option to supplement a solar water heating system.
Showing posts with label solar water heating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solar water heating. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Solar Space Heating
There are two things specifically that I'm really interested in finding.
1) Finding a solution to provide hot water.
2) Finding a solution to provide space heating.
With the price of oil going crazy, I like the idea of a solar boiler of some sort to supplement (and hopefully replace in the summer) oil. It really irritates me when I hear my furnace come on in July and August to heat water.
Space heating is a little trickier and, from what I've been seeing and reading, a lot more expensive. I have hotwater baseboard. All of the solutions for solar space heating are for radiant in floor heating. If forced, I could go that way as my basement is unfinished and there is access to the underside of the subfloor (I guess procrastination in this case pays off).
CMHC indicates that the cost of a radiant systems is somewhere round $600-800/100 sq ft. That would be roughly $7000-9000.
I did find a company out of Connecticut, Apricus, that has a heat dissipator that looks like it may have interesting possibilities if it can be hooked in conjuction with a solar boiler of some sort. The closest Apricus dealer, Generation PV, is in Ontario. I've made contact with them to get more information about there products and if it sounds good I'll check them out with the local BBB and see what other history I can get on the company.
5/1/2008 - Correction
The Apricus heat dissipator is not a space heater, it is designed to eliminate excess heat from a solar water heating system during the summer months.
1) Finding a solution to provide hot water.
2) Finding a solution to provide space heating.
With the price of oil going crazy, I like the idea of a solar boiler of some sort to supplement (and hopefully replace in the summer) oil. It really irritates me when I hear my furnace come on in July and August to heat water.
Space heating is a little trickier and, from what I've been seeing and reading, a lot more expensive. I have hotwater baseboard. All of the solutions for solar space heating are for radiant in floor heating. If forced, I could go that way as my basement is unfinished and there is access to the underside of the subfloor (I guess procrastination in this case pays off).
CMHC indicates that the cost of a radiant systems is somewhere round $600-800/100 sq ft. That would be roughly $7000-9000.
I did find a company out of Connecticut, Apricus, that has a heat dissipator that looks like it may have interesting possibilities if it can be hooked in conjuction with a solar boiler of some sort. The closest Apricus dealer, Generation PV, is in Ontario. I've made contact with them to get more information about there products and if it sounds good I'll check them out with the local BBB and see what other history I can get on the company.
5/1/2008 - Correction
The Apricus heat dissipator is not a space heater, it is designed to eliminate excess heat from a solar water heating system during the summer months.
EnCom
Found another company that sells solar and wind energy systems, EnCom. There solar water heating solution involves panels with evacuated tubes that heat fluid (i.e. glycol) to heat water. The vacuum results in lower heat loss and claim to perform better in colder weather than solar thermal collectors. In warmer climates or hot weather they can also overheat water and require a different design that those with thermal collectors.
These may be a viable option. From I've been reading online, the solar thermal collectors can provide 90-100% of hot water requirements in the summer but only 10-20% in the winter.
There's no claim as to performce on EnCom's website.
I checked the company out at the NS Registry of Joint Stocks to see how long they've been in business, about 3 years. I've always been a little leary about companies that have not been around for very long, particularly with there after sales service but it's worth a phone call.
These may be a viable option. From I've been reading online, the solar thermal collectors can provide 90-100% of hot water requirements in the summer but only 10-20% in the winter.
There's no claim as to performce on EnCom's website.
I checked the company out at the NS Registry of Joint Stocks to see how long they've been in business, about 3 years. I've always been a little leary about companies that have not been around for very long, particularly with there after sales service but it's worth a phone call.
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