Shifting Solutions

August 21, 2006 Testing continued.

The last few days have been progressively cloudier, with yesterday being fully overcast and rainy all day.  The plot below clearly shows that you can’t get solar heat without direct sunlight.  Even on days when clouds pass over the heat gain is compromised significantly.  The tank temperature is returning to the default 60F from the well.

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August 19, 2006 Testing continues

Below is a plot that shows my test as suggested by Barry (see above) to see if a reverse thermo-siphon effect in the collectors at night was causing heat loss in the tank.

I shut off the Wand circulation using the valve right above the Solar Wand at 7:00pm and opened it at midnight.  What happened at midnight clearly shows a thermo-siphon, but the flow is in the normal direction which is peculiar.  I would expect to see the red line bump up from a reverse thermo-siphon that would result from the larger cold mass in the collectors falling down through the plumbing.  Barry Butler is just as perplexed, since a check valve will not prevent this effect.

Also notice the drop in tank temperature from the cooler water that is now circulating through the Wand from the collectors.

I had not gotten around to filling the system with glycol mixture, so you can see a dip in temperature at 7:45 as I filled in fresh 50% glycol mix.

Average tank temperature 85.462F

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By having a renewable energy system in place, whether through home solar systems or a wind power generator so the home can run entirely on it’s  own home solar power would be a big asset when it come time to sell, even more so in today’s economy.

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Pump now turns on exactly when the collector becomes hotter than the tank top

Today’s plot (below) shows a cloudy day that shows only moderate solar gain that does not fully offset the water usage for the day.  (Each drop in the blue line is a cloud blocking the sun).  Keep in mind that the water entering this pre-heat tank comes from my well which is about 60F.  Any temperature exiting this tank that is significantly above 60 is a net solar gain that reduces the need for propane to heat the regular water tank up to 100F.

Note that the pump now turns on exactly when the collector becomes hotter than the tank top.  I moved the sensor that runs to the Differential Temperature Controller so that it can respond appropriately to the tank temperature rather than turning on (as above) based on the temperature of the lower part of the tank.

Average tank temperature 89.365F

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Tomorrow we continue

Beware of therm o siphoning

August 16, 2006We just returned from a vacation and I had left the data logger running to monitor the system, taking readings every 60 seconds — the interval for all these plots.

The plot showed a surprising loss of heat each evening, I would have expected to see a continuous gain in stored temperature in the tank, and a much higher temperature overall.  I assume that the collectors are reverse thermosiphoning (cold water in the collectors flowing down) in the cool night air which is dropping to the low 60’s and upper 50’s.

I emailed the plot below to Barry Butler, and he suggested that I shut off the Solar Wand flow at the valve right above it overnight, and turn it back on in the am.  This would prevent any reverse thermo-siphon from the collectors. I will also turn off the pump using the ON-AUTO-OFF switch on my Differential Temperature Controller.  Barry said that they can send me a one-way check valve if this test prevents heat loss.

Average tank temperature 102.097F

A little glitch, but hey, there is always a solution if you put your mind to it. In this case just a phone call helped a lot. Never be afraid to ask for help.

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Tomorrow, we continue

Test Results

August 6, 2006I attached a HOBO data logger to the system so I could monitor the performance of the system.  I made up my own sensor probes to monitor the temperature coming into the Wand and out, the temperature at the top of the tank, and the PV voltage (to track the solar exposure).  The HOBOware software allows me to produce a very clear graph of my first full day.  The outdoor temperatures peaked in the mid ’70’s and there were no clouds.  We used hot water in a normal way, and the graph clearly shows a significant solar contribution (green line).   I will add more graphs as I tweak the system.

Aside from all these detailed statistics, we are noticing a distinct change in the pattern of the water heater’s operating time.  Our heater uses a forced air vent driven by a loud blower and typically we used to hear it kick on very soon after using hot water.  In the last day or so we have barely noticed it running at all!  This is a blessing for my wife who uses the daylight basement for her business as it is much quieter now.

One thing I learned was that the sensor that reads tank temperature for the Differential Temperature Controller should not be at the bottom of the tank.  That is where it was in the morning on the day of this graph.  The other sensor is right at the top of the collectors. The pump turned on before there was enough sun to run the pump, since the PV was not getting direct sun at that point.  The bottom of the tank has 60F water coming from our well that keeps the sensor too cool, and when the collectors got above 60F or so the DTC turned on the pump before the water was hotter than the average tank temperature.  When I moved the sensor to near the top of the tank later in the day, the pump turned off at a more appropriate time.

Average tank temperature 87.329F

So far so good, things are progressing.

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NOT done yet tomorrow we continue the above article

Our world is changing, and the Earth is starting to feel the effects of years and years of pollution. The ozone layer is said to be thinning fast, which could be bad news for us, especially the next generations. We should all start doing our share to help the environment.

One way to do so is by conserving energy. Using solar energy is one eco-friendly way to save energy because it can be recycled into heat and electricity. The radiant energy from the sun can be used to heat a house by installing solar and other renewable energy products in our homes, such as a solar oven. These panels convert the light from the sun into electricity, thus producing what we call “clean” energy.

The control Panel and the filling process

I stopped to make a control panel from a scrap of 1/4″ Cherry veneer plywood I had laying around.  I mounted this at a convenient angle to the right of the tank.  I mounted the provided terminal strip for the signals and hooked up the red LED that indicates low fluid in the overflow tank – it lit up from the power in the PV panel!  Then I added my own second terminal strip for the PV wire and mounted one of my own solar powered Differential Temperature Controllers, and connected the sensors and pump to it. Finally I installed the provided temperature gauge.  I admire the simplicity and cleverness of using a standard automobile gauge for this.  They had even opened up the package it came in and taped a hose clamp to the end of the sensor to make it obvious that the sensor should be clamped to the tube coming from the collector.  Very thoughtful!

Note that the red light is on indicating a low reservoir level in the overflow tank above the collectors.  This is because I have not yet filled the system with glycol anti-freeze mix, so the tank has only a little fluid in it.

Once again the Installation Manual was quite clear about the filling process.  It begins by identifying and naming the 4 valves.  I stopped to make up little plastic tags that I tied onto each valve to identify them so I would not get confused.  It also makes it easier to follow the steps in manual.There are 2 hoses provided with the kit.  One that allows a garden hose to be used to fill and flush the collectors, and a fill drain hose that allows the water to exit the plumbing into a bucket.  (This same hose is also used later to siphon anti-freeze mix into the system.)  I connected the garden hose to the drain valve on the pre-heat tank and cautiously opened the valve.  There were ominous hissing sounds and drips right away.  I identified the loose fittings and tightened them down.  After 2 more tries I had them all tight and drip free.

Then I left the fill hose open and waited a minute or so for the collectors to fill and to see water come back out.  Finally warm water!  Another minute or so to purge all the crud from the system.

Again, following the instructions carefully, I shut off the drain valve and let the house pressure push some water out of the radiator cap into the overflow tank above the collectors.  I went up and opened my bedroom window to check for the presence of water in the tank and yes there it was!  I noted that the little float sensor was just beginning to lift up in the water.

Since it was late in the afternoon there was only glancing sun on the collectors so the water was only slightly warm, but there was enough PV power to run the pump.   I was able to use the ON/AUTO/OFF switch on my differential temperature controller to operate the pump.

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Tomorrow : Test Results

Day 10 – plumbing the Solar Wand

August 1, 2006. Time Invested:
4:00 plumbing in the Solar Wand and installing wiring and control panel

Here’s a shot of me test fitting the Solar Wand in my workshop a few days ago.  I had to whittle the hole out in the tank a bit more because the upper section of the Wand had some thick places.  I had been using just the bottom end to check the hole size back when I was opening up the hole.  I’m glad I double checked since it is easier to ream out the hole in my workshop than down in the basement.

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I made one small mistake when connecting the plumbing parts to the Wand.  I saw that I had 2 parts transposed after I had really tightened down the swage fitting and deformed the ring.  There was nothing for it but to go back to the hardware store for a replacement part ($4.80).This part was pretty easy, and if I had not elected to install the pre-heat tank I think a “normal” installation would go very quickly.   One must really pay attention to the details and plan out the assembly sequence so that all the parts are rotated so that they clear each other.  I particularly wanted to be able to see the red lights on the El-Sid circulation pump.  I know from experience that these pumps are so quiet that you need the lights to be able to tell they are running!

It was relatively simple to finalize the umbilical connections.  Per the instructions I had identified which tube was which and labeled them with arrows on each one.  Cutting them to length and bending them into place was quite simple.  One thing I was unclear about with all the swage fittings was how much to tighten them, so I erred on the loose side at first.

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Preheat tank – troubles

Then the trouble began.  I turned on the cold main and filled each tank — watching for leaks.  I stopped twice to tighten unions and swage fittings.  Once the system was holding pressure I noticed this dripping sound.  “This can’t be good” I thought.  Sure enough the over pressure valve next to the main pressure tank had sprung a leak.  (For those without wells, you need a pressure tank to store pressure so the well pump doesn’t run every time you run water.)   This little valve had rusted out, and I noticed that the pressure gauge was sticking too.  Darn!  There was a lot of water to mop up — and more importantly no chance of taking another shower tonight.  Did I mention it has been 85F and humid as a sauna all day?I had to shut off the main again and attach the garden hose to the inlet drain to relieve the pressure.  Shown below are the new pressure gauge and below it the new pressure relief valve.

August 1, 2006 After an early morning run to the plumbing supply, I was able to replace the defective relief valve and install a new pressure gauge.  Now I could pressurize the whole house and fire up the water heater.  It’s another hot, humid day and much to be done.

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I decided to install the thermal cutoff switch next.  According to the well written Installation Manual, this needs to be at the top of the tank and touching the metal of the tank wall.  I opened up the electrical panel at the top of the tank and removed the inner metal wiring box to expose the insulation.  I cut away the wires that feed the electric element — I won’t be needing those!  Then I cut out a square of insulation for the thermal switch so it could fit down against the tank wall.I pulled the wire out through the electrical fitting and secured the wire.  This is a great spot for this important switch.  If the tank gets over heated from a really good solar day, this switch turns off the collector circulation pump so no more heat can be added.

If we were to do it over again, instead of ordering the solar panels themselves, we would build our own solar panels. Having our own home solar systems would not have taken that  much longer after all and as we found out it was rather simple to do. Learning to build our own renewable energy system to create home solar power not only would have saved us hundreds more dollars but  taught us the fundamentals of home solar power systems. It would add one basic component to our sustainable living goals. We also found out that eventually we would like to incorporate a wind power generator to the complete household system, but more on that another time.

End of Day 9, tomorrow day 10

Day 9 – plumbing the pre-heat tank

July 31, 2006. Time Invested:
3:40 Plumbing in the new tank
1:00 Finding the leaky pressure relief valve and cleaning upAugust 1, 2006. Time invested:
1:00 Get replacement valve and installing it

I really should have started in the day time so I could have made a run to the hardware store if I needed something.  Murphy rules when you are plumbing…  I started at 8:00pm. It was pretty easy to get the pre-heat tank in place, it sits right up against the propane fired water heater.  I set it on some lengths of treated 2X4s to keep it off the damp cement floor.

I used the revised layout that I got from Butler Sun Solutions that shows how to plumb in a solar pre-heat tank.  I began by shutting off the water main and draining the plumbing from the bottom of the hot water heater.  Oh, yes, before that I had shut off the gas and power to the water heater and I took a long shower to cool off the tank.  I attached a garden hose to the heater tank drain, and ran it outside.

Note the unusual connections to this tank.  I accidentally bought an electric water heater designed for mobile homes.  It has connections on the side as well as the top, and no dip tube for the cold inlet at the top, so I had to use the lower inlet on the side for the cold feed.

It wasn’t too hard to plumb in the cold line.  There need to be 3 shut off valves so that the tanks can be configured as a normal hot water heater, or fed through the pre-heat tank.  The pre-heat tank also needs its own shut-off.I moved on to plumbing the wand outlet into the cold side of the propane tank using a T that allows that original water heater to be fed from cold, or solar heated water.

Then I plumbed in the tempering valve on the hot outlet of the water heater (upper left in the image at right).  It is hidden by the white combustion exhaust pipe at the upper left of the image to the right.   3.5 hours – not bad!

Day nine continues tomorrow.

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