Active Solar Heating

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Active Solar Heating

• By Atif Mian

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The objective is to teach everyone more
about active solar heating systems and what its
advantages are.
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What is Active Solar Heating?

• Basically, active solar heating is the use of a
  system that converts and stores energy from solar
  radiation to heat a home or its water.  It is
  called active solar heating system because it
  uses pumps and fans to transfer the heat
• Active solar heating uses concepts similar to
  passive solar heating. However, active solar
  takes the power of the sun and amplifies it.
  Using specially designed mechanical systems,
  active solar heating can generate much more heat
  for space heating and hot water than passive
  solar alone

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How does it work?

• Solar collectors are at the heart of most
  active-solar energy systems. The collector
  absorbs the sun's light energy and changes it
  into heat energy by the aid of pumps or fans. The
  heat is then transferred to another location for
  immediate heating or for storage for use later

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Applications

• Applications for active solar energy include
  heating swimming pools, domestic hot water use,
  ventilation and industrial process air and water
  for commercial facilities such as laundries, car
  washes and fitness centers

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Types

• There are two basic types of active-solar heating
  systems, the air or liquid systems. A
  liquid-based system heats water or an antifreeze
  solution in a "hydronic" collector, and an
  air-based system heats air in an "air collector"
  

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Advantages

• Solar energy is a renewable resource that is
  environmentally friendly. Unlike fossil fuels,
  solar energy is available just about everywhere
  on earth. And this source of energy is free,
  immune to rising energy prices. Solar energy can
  be used in many ways to provide heat, lighting,
  mechanical power and electricity

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How to minimize heat loss

• Minimize the distance from collection to the
  storage source. The longer the run from the
  collectors to storage, the greater the heat loss
  and reduced system efficiency.
• Optimize insulation of collectors, ducts, pipes,
  and storage.
• Place duct and piping runs within conditioned
  space.

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Cost

• Some people may install a solar water heating
  system to help conserve the worlds supply of
  fossil fuels. Most people, however, will be more
  concerned with the money that the system could
  help them save in the future.The cost of a
  solar water heater consists of - Cost of the
  components (the components depend on what you are
  trying to heat such as for pool you would need a
  smaller size collector than for a house) - Cost
  of paying the installer to fit it

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Conclusion

• It is easy to see and feel the power of the sun
  as it warms and lights the Earth. Today, we are
  able to harness to power of the sun in numerous
  ways, including using it for water heating, space
  heating, and space cooling in buildings. Many
  buildings are now designed to take full advantage
  of the sun's warmth. Solar heating can be fully
  integrated into a building during the design
  phase or an existing building can be retrofitted
  to take advantage of solar heating.

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Questions

• What are the 2 basic types of active solar
  heating?
• What does the cost of active solar heating
  consist of? (2 things)

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References

• Books
• Natural Resources Canada,
• Solar Water Heater's A Buyer's Guide, (Ottawa
  Minister of Supply and Services, 1987).
• Noble, Duncan and Robert K. Swartman,
• The Canadian Renewable Energy Guide, (Burnstown
  General Store Publishing House, 1995).
• Internet
• http//www.newenergy.org/sesci/publications/pamphl
  ets/active.html
• http//www.healthgoods.com/Education/Energy_Inform
  ation/Renewable_Energy/heating_with_active_solar.h
  tm
• http//www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/01-02
  /RE_info/active_solar.htm