Evacuated Solar Tubes

Installing solar panels is an excellent way to utilise solar energy and reduce carbon footprint. But if you want to use solar energy to heat water, you’ll need a solar thermal system.

The main component of this system is a collector, and evacuated tube solar collectors are one of the types. These are energy efficient and can conveniently heat a substantial amount of water. Their exceptional performance makes the tubes suitable for residences.

You might be researching various evacuated solar thermal collectors in the market. It’s best to understand their features. Knowing the technicalities will help you select a quality product that matches your requirements.

Check out this post to know all about the benefits and features of these tubes.

Key Takeaways

• Evacuated tube solar collectors are efficient systems for heating water using solar energy and are suitable for residences.
• These collectors create a vacuum between inner and outer glass tubes, maximising heat absorption and minimising heat loss, resulting in energy efficiency and consistent hot water flow.
• Advantages of choosing evacuated tubes include high energy efficiency, consistent hot water supply, durability, and relatively simple installation, making them a cost-effective choice for reducing electric bills.

What’s the Structure of Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors?

An evacuated tube is a type of collector consisting of rows of parallel tubes attached to a header heat pipe. Unlike a flat plate collector, these tubes don’t have a heat-absorbing plate.

Moreover, cylindrical glass tubes can create a particular angle while absorbing sunlight. They can help you produce hot water by efficiently absorbing sunlight. So, besides standard households, these tubes are also useful in buildings that need hot water daily.

Over the years, these solar thermal collectors have become popular and widely appreciated. People prefer them for water heating because they are effective in various climatic conditions. However, before you select one for your home, you need to understand its functions.

How Do Evacuated Solar Tubes Work?

The evacuated collector includes a thinner inner glass tube and a thicker outer tube. Both tubes consist of specialised protein that maximises heat absorption and minimises heat loss.

Moreover, they can efficiently work even under extremely high temperatures during the summer months.

Also, the system pumps out the air between the glass tubes, creating a vacuum. This is why these cubes are called evacuated collectors. The tubes don’t heat the water inside them; the vacuum works as an insulator, reducing heat loss.

• This vacuum enables these tubes to improve the water heating.
• The absorber plate absorbs and transfers the heat to a special fluid inside the system called a heat transfer fluid.
• When this fluid is heated up, it converts into steam and rises to the topmost section of the collector.

Here, the heat exchanger transfers the heat to water, which gets stored in a tank. This water will be available for use.

Advantages of Choosing Evacuated Tubes

Evacuated solar tubes are a bit more expensive than flat plate heating systems. This might make you think hard before buying an evacuated tube system. That’s why we have listed the amazing benefits of evacuated tubes here to aid your purchase decision.

Energy Efficiency

Evacuated panels are highly energy efficient, with a conversion rate of almost 90%. They tend to produce more heat than flat plates and other thermal panels. So, you can heat a lot more water with these tubes, which can help you save time and resources.

You’ll find them beneficial if your household has many members who need hot water regularly.

Consistent Flow of Hot Water

The winters in the UK can be long and challenging. With a steady flow of hot water through your solar system, you can get through the winters comfortably. In addition, you can store the water and use it at your convenience.

The vacuum prevents any corruption in the collector, making the entire system more durable than other panels. So you can enjoy uninterrupted service throughout the year.

Simple Installation

Besides working efficiently at high temperatures, this hot water system is easy to install. You can do it yourself or contact a professional to install the evacuated solar heat tubes, heat exchangers and other components.

Summing Up

Having an excellent efficiency rate, evacuated solar collectors can generate 3000 kWh of energy. 2100 kWh of this solar heat will be utilised for heating water for household purposes. Plus, you can contact your local government office for any grants or subsidies offered for using the device.

The evacuated heat transfer system can help you reduce your electric bills efficiently. However, you might require a backup heater in the winter to heat the solar water to a specific desired temperature. You can seek professional assistance to get more information about this.