The Importance of Duty Cycle in Solar Thermal Systems
In a recent letter from Kevin about single tank vs two tank solar hot water systems, he brings up a very important concept that we didn’t cover in the previous discussion. It is known as “duty cycle”, or the load vs time. To start this off, let’s go back to Kevin’s comments about single tank […]
Solar Thermal Design Class Reminder
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkJZzLS0T5M Hey Everybody! I’d just like to send out a reminder about the class for designing and engineering commercial-grade solar hot water systems that is coming up in about two and a half weeks. Here are the details… “Designing Durable, Low-Maintenance Commercial Solar Thermal Systems” Friday, September 9, 2011 8:30am – 5:00pm Holiday Inn Express at […]
Solar Hot Water Systems – Embedding FHS Controls
In this video, we’re putting the finishing touches on three Fluid Handling Systems that are soon to be delivered to the Fayetteville VA Medical Center as part of the solar hot water systems being installed there by our friends at Southern Energy Management. Sam and David are installing the controls and auto-fill valve… httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX0l8PXFhyA&feature=channel_video_title
WTU Solar Hot Water System Video #2
Have you ever wondered exactly what’s going on inside the flat plate collectors of a solar hot water system? In this video I provide some insight into that question during our training session for NAVFAC. If you look inside a typical flat plate collector, you will see individual black plated copper fins. Manufacturers have different methods for […]
Solar Hot Water Training from the NC Solar Center
I’ve been getting several inquires lately from people interested in learning more about hands-on training for solar water heating systems. Many local HVAC and plumbing contractors have realized that if they can learn a new trick (like solar hot water) they will grow their business in a new direction. Well, of course the primary purpose […]
Upcoming Solar Thermal Engineering Course
Hey Gang! I’m excited to announce that the North Carolina Solar Center is offering a professional-level one-day course on commercial solar hot water systems. Here are the details… “Designing Durable, Low-Maintenance Commercial Solar Thermal Systems” Friday, September 9, 2011 8:30am – 5:00pm Holiday Inn Express at NCSU 3741 Thistledown Drive Raleigh, NC 27606 Or Attend Remotely Using Elluminate […]
Evaluating Hot Water Meter Data from The Healing Place
In this video I analyze the data we recently collected from the hot water meter we installed at The Healing Place. This is actually the first of four data sets we will need to evaluate for the entire facility in the process of our design for their solar hot water system. Information from our datalogger […]
More Hot Water Metering at The Healing Place
In this video I show how we set up a non-invasive flow meter on another hot water line at The Healing Place of Wake County as part of our design process for a solar hot water system. The flow meter requires a straight run of pipe in order to properly collect data. In addition to […]
Dr. Ben Attends ASES 2011
The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) held its 40th annual National Solar Convention at the Raleigh Convention Center last week. The turn out was impressive and I had the pleasure of seeing many old friends and making some new ones. I also had the honor of being a panel member in two of the breakout […]
Design Advantages of Drainback Solar Hot Water Systems
Watch this video illustrating the design advantages inherent to drainback solar hot water systems. This is a follow-up to my three part video series on pressurized glycol solar water heating systems. If you haven’t seen that yet, you can click here to catch up. Unlike pressurized glycol systems, the drainback design requires none of the […]