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Solar water heaters are one of the best selling solar appliances in the world. The demand for the equipment is growing day by day. Independent houses, apartments and companies find solar water heaters a smart alternative to the water heaters running from electricity. It saves money. Moreover, it is friendly to the environment. Below are some top FAQs on the equipment that you may want to know.
What is a solar water heater?
It is a device that uses Sun energy to make water hot for bathing, cleaning, washing etc... It is installed at the roof top where proper sunlight is available.
What are different types of solar water heaters?
It has 2 major types- one is based on flat-plate collectors (FPC) and the other is based on evacuated tube collectors (ETC). Flat-plate collectors are durable because they are of a metallic type. Glass is used for ETCs which is fragile in nature.
Which Type is better for different places?
ETCs are cheaper than FPCs. They perform better in the colder regions by avoiding freezing even the temperature goes sub-zero. FPCs are also used in the colder region but they are costly than ETCs.
If your area has hard water, make sure to install an FPC system with a heat exchanger as it will avoid scale deposition in copper tubes of solar collectors. An ETC system doesn't need heat exchanger but it needs cleaning at least once in a year to remove salt deposition.
Do I get any subsidy to install the system?
No, you can't. Such systems have no subsidy.
How do I decide about the size or capacity required to be installed?
It is primarily based on the usage of hot water every day. You can assume the heater capacity by the number of members going to use hot water per day. If your family has 3-4 members, the heater of 100 liters per day capacity will be enough for you. The size of the system is also based on the usage of hot water for not only bathing but also for other things like washing and cleaning.
What does happen on the cloudy or rainy day? Do I still get hot water?
If the cloudy days are just a day or two, you can still get warm water as the water gets heated by the diffused radiation available in the atmosphere.
How do I know that a good quality solar water heater is installed in my house?
Buy the device from a MNRE registered company. Such companies offer quality solar products. They follow the manufacturing and installation rules set by the MNRE.
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