Solar Hot Water Products

Solar Hot Water Evacuated Tube

Hills Solar

History

The concept of heating water using energy from the sun has been around for at least 100 years. The first patent for a solar water heat was awarded to Clarence M Kemp of Baltimore, Maryland, USA in 1891 for his ‘Climax’ solar collector. Australia’s first pioneer in solar energy appears to go to Edwin Phillips (1859 – 1923). He patented a solar hot water system in 1901.

The early designs did work, but lacked technological sophistication. During the past 100 years, there have been many different designs created with some being more successful than others.

In most areas of Australia, between 65 and 80 per cent of domestic hot water demand can be supplied by a solar hot water system.

It was also around this time in the early to mid 1900’s when Hills Holdings were also considering the future challenges of people being able to simply and cost effectively dry their clothes after washing. The Hills Hoist was developed in 1946 and continues to be a necessity for Australian’s backyards of today. This was Hills first experience with solar, using the sun to dry clothes in the back yard.  Today, Hills have introduced another simple and cost effective solution for the Australian home that utilises the free energy available from the sun with the introduction of the Hills ESTEEM™ evacuated tube solar hot water system.

The technology of solar has come a long way in 100 years, but the principle remains the same – free energy from the sun that can heat your hot water and dry your clothes with the technology provided by Hills.

How do Evacuated Tube Solar Hot Water Systems Work?

Suns thermal energy absorbed by the collectors

Heat exchange process

• Water flows (pumped) from the tank up through the manifold across the top of the heat pipes (heating the water) and then down returning to the tank

Hot Water stored in tank

Solar Controller;

• Connected to sensors, in tank (ground) and manifold /collector (roof)
• Operates the pump to circulate water for heat exchanging process
• Tank booster will operate as required when tank temperature is low or during period of insufficient solar gain

Evacuated Tubes: Solar Collectors and the Heat Transfer Process

Evacuated Tube Technology

• Highly efficient in cooler and cloudy conditions
• Optimised performance in winter when temperature/thermal energy is at its lowest and hot water consumption is high
• Double layer, vacuum between layers, operates like a thermos flask, retaining heat. Heat retention up to 97%
• Sun thermal energy transferred to heat pipe
• Evaporative liquid in copper pipe forms vapour, rises to top of tube
• Heat exchanged from heat pipe to water passing through the manifold

Hills ESTEEM™ – Evacuated Tubes

The Hills ESTEEM™ evacuated tube solar hot water system uses advanced evacuated glass tube technology to capture the sun’s thermal energy. The result is a solar hot water system that delivers an improved energy efficiency of up to 90%. This effectively reduces households CO2emissions by up to 4 tonnes per year, the equivalent of taking a small car off the road. The Hills Solar hot water systems are not only designed to provide superior performance but will also look great and add value to your home.

The Hills ESTEEM™ represents the pinnacle of solar hot water systems in Australia today. Utilising advanced technology, the Hills ESTEEM™ collectors deliver performance efficiencies beyond those of other evacuated tube collectors. With superior design and enhanced insulating properties, the collectors optimise energy capture while minimising heat loss, providing greater energy efficiencies, particularly during the winter period when thermal energy is at its lowest.

• Highly efficient in cooler climates  – optimised performance in winter when temperature / thermal energy is at it’s lowest and hot water consumption is high
• Save up to 90% of your annual hot water energy costs
• Evacuated tubes, heat pipe / heat exchange technology
• Highly efficient triple layer evacuated tube solar thermal technology – heat retention up to 97%
• Cylindrical evacuated tubes passively track the sun providing maximum solar absorption all day, not just at midday
• Manifold insulation thickness and heat retention reduces running costs
• Certified to exceed AS2712:2007 – hail resistance up to 25mm diameter
• Certified to exceed AS2721:2007 – test for protection against freezing to minus 15 degrees without the need for a heat exchanger or glycol – frost protection system built in to system operation
• Stainless steel or vitreous enamel (glass lined) hot water storage tanks  and mid-mounted and bottom mounted electric booster elements
• Solar controller and pump combination box fitted to tank for tamper proof safety and tidy installation
• Pitching frames to optimise system performance (stainless steel)
• All components tested and certified to the various solar hot water Australian standards required.
• All Hills Solar systems quality for STCs (small scale technology certificates) and other Federal or State Government rebate / incentive program
• 15 year warranty on manifolds, evacuated tubes & frames, 10 year warranty on stainless steel tanks and 5 year warranty on vitreous enamel ( glass lined ) tanks

To find out more about Hills Solar Evacuated Tube Hot Water Systems, contact us now, or call us on 1300 769 371

Solar Lord

PLANET POWER is proud to offer the Solar Lord range of evacuated tube (U-tube and Heat Pipe) hot water systems.

The Solar Lord system is state-of-the-art design from Germany in the tubing and Australian (Sydney University) coating technology for the absorbing surface.

In a Heat Pipe collector, the Sun’s energy that is absorbed by the tubes is the transferred to your water via special pipes located inside each tube. A small amount of non-toxic liquid is located inside each heat pipe, which is turned into gas by the Sun; this gas rises to the tips of the pipes which are inserted into a heat transfer manifold located on your roof. Water is then pumped through this manifold absorbing the heat and storing the heated water in a storage tank located on the ground.

In a U-tube collector, the copper tubing is bent into a U-shape and inlaid into heat transferring fins. The copper tubes and a pair of fins sit inside the evacuated glass tube. When sunlight strikes the collector the solar rays go through the clear glass of the outside tubes and are absorbed by the coating on the outside of the inner tubes. The solar energy is changed into heat energy by the coating surface and heats the inner tube. The fins transfer the heat from the absorbing surface of the inner tube to the copper u-tube. Water flows inside the copper u-tube and is heated and piped to the storage tank.

U-tube collectors maximize solar heat gain and minimise heat loss. It has been tested and proven to be the highest efficiency collector available globally. (Fraunhofer Laboratory, Germany).

The result of this technology is an incredibly efficient system to harness the heat of the sun even in extremely cold areas – a system so efficient that it works even on cloudy or rainy days!

Ask Planet Power to provide an obligation-free quotation for your new Solar Lord solar hot water system and help save the planet.

Please contact us to find out more