Hot Water Solar Panels
Heating your hot water with solar panels is without doubt the most important thing you should do when planning an alternative energy home. Solar energy heats up water very efficiently indeed and these days with evacuated tubes and state of the art insulation it can store the heat for several days.
There are a number of different types of solar panel used for heating water, there is the basic pipe full of water in a box with a glass front, the heat of the sun comes through the glass is absorbed by the black pipe and the water moving through it.
Then you move on to evacuated tubes which are the most commonly found units today they are far more efficient than there basic predecessors and most commonly sit on the roof with their own tank.
Then you have the concentrated solar water heating system which is far more effective these systems have oil running through the tubes and then heat the water in a tank via coils. The oil can get many times hotter than water without boiling in the same period of time so when the heat passes into the water the result is a far more efficient system. This is achieved either in panels or in parabolic troughs.
There are experiments going on at the moment to build steam generators using the same system which eventually may lead to full blown power stations.
All of the systems above can be built by your average DIY enthusiast and this will no doubt save you a lot of money, it also means that the savings made will pay off your investment faster. It can also enhance the value of your property as more and more people consider their carbon footprint.