ᐅ Solar Thermal for Domestic Hot Water and Additional Heating Support?
Created on: 8 Jun 2017 15:50
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ShawN46Hello everyone,
in our new house (existing property), a natural gas condensing boiler system is installed in combination with a solar thermal system (both were installed about 1.5 years ago).
Now I am wondering if it would be worthwhile to upgrade the solar thermal system to provide heating support as well?
A heating technician friend of mine said that especially in combination with underfloor heating (which we plan to install, as until now we have only had conventional radiators), adding heating support through solar thermal makes sense (mainly because of the relatively low flow temperature, of course). Another heating technician, however, believes that a solar thermal system should only be designed for domestic hot water, and anything beyond that would be a waste of money...
Therefore, I would be interested in your opinions or even better, your experiences regarding solar thermal for domestic hot water only, or for domestic hot water plus heating support!
Current setup: natural gas condensing boiler 17 kW, solar thermal flat plate collectors with 9.36 m² (101 sq ft), 800-liter (210-gallon) combined stratified storage tank.
Thanks in advance!
Best regards
in our new house (existing property), a natural gas condensing boiler system is installed in combination with a solar thermal system (both were installed about 1.5 years ago).
Now I am wondering if it would be worthwhile to upgrade the solar thermal system to provide heating support as well?
A heating technician friend of mine said that especially in combination with underfloor heating (which we plan to install, as until now we have only had conventional radiators), adding heating support through solar thermal makes sense (mainly because of the relatively low flow temperature, of course). Another heating technician, however, believes that a solar thermal system should only be designed for domestic hot water, and anything beyond that would be a waste of money...
Therefore, I would be interested in your opinions or even better, your experiences regarding solar thermal for domestic hot water only, or for domestic hot water plus heating support!
Current setup: natural gas condensing boiler 17 kW, solar thermal flat plate collectors with 9.36 m² (101 sq ft), 800-liter (210-gallon) combined stratified storage tank.
Thanks in advance!
Best regards
sven.conzi8 Jun 2017 16:23I don’t think it makes sense to integrate the heating system. In winter, when solar thermal energy yield is lower due to reduced sunlight, the heating is needed. In summer, there is enough sun, but heating is not required.
ShawN46 schrieb:
Another heating engineer believes that a solar thermal system should only be designed for domestic hot water, and anything beyond that would be a waste of money...He is right...
markus27039 Jun 2017 08:48During the winter months, our solar thermal system delivers almost no heat. Even on sunny days, it barely manages to keep the domestic hot water warm (not hot!).
So it really doesn’t make sense to connect the heating system to it.
So it really doesn’t make sense to connect the heating system to it.
In general, upgrading to solar thermal systems is just a waste of money. We also considered installing one back then, but decided against it due to the east/west orientation of our roof.
What can I say after 2 years... I switch my gas heating to summer mode in mid-May and back to normal operation in mid-September. Last year, I think the gas consumption during those 4 summer months was about 80m³ (2,825 cubic feet). That probably corresponds to roughly 80 euros.
With the money saved, I could now heat my hot water during summer for 40 years.
What can I say after 2 years... I switch my gas heating to summer mode in mid-May and back to normal operation in mid-September. Last year, I think the gas consumption during those 4 summer months was about 80m³ (2,825 cubic feet). That probably corresponds to roughly 80 euros.
With the money saved, I could now heat my hot water during summer for 40 years.
Solar thermal energy is assumed to provide about 60% support for domestic hot water heating in a thermal insulation certificate.
Solar heating support for underfloor heating is estimated at around 10%.
As often happens, there are people with the opinion “Every little bit helps” and others who think “It’s not worth it.”
An additional valve is needed in the return line of your underfloor heating system, which directs the cooled water either back to the boiler as usual or to the storage tank. The connection is at the very bottom. Then, similar to domestic hot water heating, preheated water is drawn approximately from the middle of the storage tank and sent to the boiler.
An 800-liter (210-gallon) combined stratified storage tank should be sufficient for this.
Solar heating support for underfloor heating is estimated at around 10%.
As often happens, there are people with the opinion “Every little bit helps” and others who think “It’s not worth it.”
An additional valve is needed in the return line of your underfloor heating system, which directs the cooled water either back to the boiler as usual or to the storage tank. The connection is at the very bottom. Then, similar to domestic hot water heating, preheated water is drawn approximately from the middle of the storage tank and sent to the boiler.
An 800-liter (210-gallon) combined stratified storage tank should be sufficient for this.
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