| A good way to save energy is to use solar heating | | | | more commonly used is antifreeze. The antifreeze |
| systems. They are good for the environment and they | | | | protects the solar collector from freezing up when the |
| are also good for your budget. It is very interesting on | | | | weather gets cold. The liquid-to-liquid heat exchangers |
| how the solar heating systems work. In this article we | | | | have either one or two barriers. There can be single or |
| are going to discuss how it all works. We are going to | | | | double layer walls between the heat-transfer fluid and |
| focus on the liquid-to-liquid transfer. | | | | the water supply. |
| The solar power heating systems works by the use | | | | The single-wall heat exchanger is a pipe or tube that is |
| of a heat exchanger to transfer the solar energy. The | | | | surrounded by the fluid. This can happen in two ways. |
| solar energy is absorbed in solar collectors then to the | | | | By either fluid passing through the tubing or fluid |
| liquid or air that is used to heat water or a space. The | | | | surrounding the tubing can be used as the |
| heat exchangers can be mad of different materials. | | | | heat-transfer fluid. The other fluid is the potable water. |
| They can be made up of steel, copper, bronze, | | | | The double-wall heat exchangers have two walls |
| stainless steel, aluminum, or cast iron. Even though they | | | | between the two fluids. Two walls are often used |
| can be made out of many different materials copper | | | | when the heat-transfer fluid is toxic, such as ethylene |
| is the type that is more commonly used. The reason | | | | glycol. Double walls are required as a safety measure |
| that copper is used more often is because it is a good | | | | in case of leaks, helping ensure that the antifreeze |
| thermal conductor and has greater resistance to | | | | does not mix with the potable water supply. |
| corrosion. | | | | A good example of the double-wall, liquid-to-liquid heat |
| There is two different ways that the solar power | | | | exchanger is a "wrap-around heat exchanger". Which |
| heating systems works. It can either work by liquid to | | | | is a tube that wraps around and is bonded to the |
| liquid, or air to liquid transfer. The heat exchanger uses | | | | outside of the hot water tank. The double-wall heat |
| a special fluid that is called heat-transfer fluid. The | | | | exchangers increase safety, they are less efficient |
| heat-transfer fluid circulates through the solar collector, | | | | because heat must transfer through two surfaces |
| absorbs heat, and then flows through the heat | | | | rather than one. To transfer the same amount of heat, |
| exchanger to transfer its heat to the water in the | | | | a double-wall heat exchanger must be larger than a |
| storage tank. | | | | single-wall exchanger. |
| The different kinds of heat-transfer fluids that are | | | | |