We have multiple configurations of thermal solar hot water heating systems available for installation. There are also large government incentives currently available, both in tax credits and rebates from the Connecticut Clean energy fund, saving up to 2/3 of the installation costs. With the energy saved, the payback is under ten years.

Not to mention the tons of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide that will no longer be discharged into the air from your building. This is truly GREEN technology.

Two types of collectors gather solar rays: flatplate and evacuated-tube. Flat-plate is the more common type and has been around longer. Evacuated- tube is a more recent design.

A flat-plate collector consists of an insulated, waterproof metal box. The top side faces the sun and has a glass or plastic cover that acts like a greenhouse, letting in the rays and holding in the heat. Inside the box is a specially coated dark-colored absorber plate and pipes containing circulating fluid.

Evacuated-tube collectors include a dark-colored absorber plate as well as parallel rows of vacuum tubes, all connected to one header pipe. Tube designs include glass, glass-metal and glass with fluid flow paths.

Absorber plates typically include long strips of metal covered by a special coating. New technologies now produce coatings that are highly efficient. The absorbed radiation heats the circulating fluid.

Solar System Requirements

When selecting a solar system, building owners need to learn how much solar energy is available to the building, a term known as “solar constant.” A building’s latitude, available surface for the collector, trees or other buildings that would shade collectors, the collector’s location and how much it deviates from magnetic South, and the distance from the collector to the solar storage tank should be considered.

At certain latitudes, there is a big difference between radiation in winter and in summer because of the angle of the sun in relation to the Earth. Even the pitch of the surfaces where the solar panels will be placed must be checked with tilt angles and orientations varying considerably between locations. Most solar panels are mounted on roofs and the angle is preset by the roof angle. Angles greater than the optimum will reduce efficiency. To make a solar system cost-effective, it should be used most of the year. Year-round hot water operation improves the cost effectiveness of the system. A system works best for a budget if it can provide 40 to 80 percent of a business’s hot water needs. Let Commercial Air Services help you decide which thermal system would be best for you.