Solar Energy

A vital part of a solar thermal system is storage. The sun is not always shining when you need your hot water!On larger systems molten salt is sometimes used as the storage medium for the heat. Generally however, the heat is stored in water, especially if the purpose of the system is to provide hot water.Water storage can take many different forms. In domestic systems by far the most common solution is to use a twin coil cylinder, with the solar connected to the bottom coil and the auxiliary heating connected to the upper coil. Ideally, your cylinder will be enlarged, a tall and thin cylinder with a solar coil at the bottom of it.Solar coils are different to traditional boiler coils as they have a larger surface area. This is because the solar system works at a lower temperature than a fossil fuel boiler. A traditional boiler coil will have a surface area of approximately 0.6m² where the coil in a SunGift Solar cylinder has a surface area of approximately 1.62m².The larger surface area of the coil in a solar cylinder means that the heat transfer is more efficient. A bigger surface area means that there is more opportunity for the heat from the solar to pass to the water in the cylinder. This in turn means that because the solar fluid can transfer more of its heat into the water in the cylinder, when it returns to the solar collector it will have a larger capacity to absorb heat.When using a twin coil cylinder it is important that the cylinder is sufficiently large to ensure that there is adequate stratification within the cylinder. Microgeneration, also called “micropower”, is the generation of zero or low-carbon electrical power by individuals, small businesses and communities to meet their own needs.The wider benefits of microgeneration solar energy are now being recognized.A recent study shows that microgeneration actually acts as a catalyst for cultural changes in consumer attitude, and provides evidence of the important impact that microgeneration has on consumers’ attitudes and behaviors regarding energy production and use. Microgeneration technologies include small wind turbines, biomass gasifires, solar power, micro-hydro, may be with any combinations etc.