Active Solar Home Heating – What you Need to Know

When it comes to heating your home, there is never too great a savings that can be made on your heating bill. Even when the winters are coldest, solar energy can be used to generate heat for your home, since the air temperature outside is not significant in the process – just the degree of sunlight. That’s why solar heating is such an efficient method, and within that category active solar home heating is the most efficient.

There are two main types of solar home heating systems: active and passive. The difference between the two is simply that active systems make use of devices to distribute the heat, while passive systems rely on nature’s own methods – namely, convection, conduction and radiation. As such, there can be greater maintenance costs with an active system but there is also a more effective and much wider transfer of heat throughout your home, thanks to machines such as fans and blowers.

If you decide to install an active solar home heating system then there are some things that you’ll need to know. Firstly, you will need a solar collector (panel), a storage system and a method to properly distribute the heat to the places that it is most needed. These aspects will depend heavily on the type of system that you choose. There are two of them: air-based and liquid-based.

Air-based systems are the most simply designed of the two, with their solar collectors consisting of little more than a black absorption plate inside an insulated, glazed box. Air is pumped through the collector, either by fan or blower, and can emerge as much as double the temperature that it went in at. The air then continues through air-ducts (usually under the floor in a radiant under-floor heating system) around the home.

Liquid-based systems work in the same way as air-based systems but they use a liquid to transfer the heat and a far more costly set of equipment. A combination of water and anti-freeze is circulated through the solar collector, which is either of a flat-plate design or evacuated tube design. The liquid comes out of the collector heated and then runs through a heat exchanger in a storage tank filled with water. The heat is transferred to the water, which is in turn pumped around the home to heat each room.

While active air systems can transfer heated air around a home easily, they are much less efficient as liquid systems because air is a poor retainer of heat. Also, active systems are more expensive than passive solar heating systems (depending on house design or redevelopment) because of the extra mechanics involved.

However, with the incentives available from government reaching as high as 30% of costs in tax rebates, active solar home heating can only be considered a wise investment. In the long run, you can save significantly on your home heating bill and, other than contributing to a cleaner world, isn’t that the point?

Tweet or Plus 1 us to get a free bonus report as a thank you!
Tweet

How would you like to save hundreds every year on your utility bills?

You can with the tips you will find in No-Cost and Low-Cost Energy Saving Tips For Your Home

• How to find energy leaks in your home

• Low cost ways to seal your windows against energy loss

• How your landscaping can save you money

• How to determine if you have enough insulation and where to add insulation for the most savings.

• And many more money saving tips!

Normally retails for $11.97 – Yours free when you tweet or plus 1 this page:

Related posts:

1. Active Solar Heating For The Home – What you Need to Know
2. Active Solar Space Heating – What are Your Options?
3. What is Active Solar Heating?
4. Disadvantages of active solar heating
5. Solar heating systems – what is out there?
6. What is Passive Solar Heating