154. Solar Thermal 101 - how a garage suite went net-positive using solar energy

This Calgary garage suite is net-positive in terms of its solar electricity and solar heat production. We speak to Tom Jackman of Simple Solar (simplesolar.ca) about how he used solar thermal heating and solar PV modules to produce more energy than this amazing garage suite requires. See blog, CKUA Radio story and photos: www.greenenergyfutures.ca/epis...

[@madman3891]

I remember when this guy was making videos of collecting aluminium cans and buildings these by hand. Glad to see he has advanced and is successful.

[@meleanfamor3801]

ObmlolmoklonblbLomm

[@richardneilsen5538]

I have a 60 tube evacuated tube array on my summer home in Michigan. It provides 100% of my domestic hot water in the summer. I have to cover about 30 tubes in the summer to keep from collecting too much heat. In the winter I switch to heating the house. The collectors keep the 2400 sqft home above freezing all but usually 5-10 days all winter, I drain the water system so freezing isn't a problem. I had planned to install a 2400 gallon tank under the floor when I built the house to have enough heat storage to ride through the real cloudy and real cold days but didn't. With more storage (only have a 120 gallon solar storage tank and a 50 gallon standard electric hot water heater) I have no doubt I could keep the house above freezing. The system has been running for 7 years. We are in a resort area with plenty of guests in the summer. We have had 14 people in the house taking plenty of showers and have never had to turn on the electric hot water heater. I have even challenged my guests to run me out of hot water. If I start running low on hot water I uncover a few more tubes. The collectors collect plenty of heat on all but the most cloudy days. With snow on the ground they collect about 50% more heat. My system needs 110 volt power so I have a expansion tank that keeps the system from purging when I loose power not ideal but it works. My collectors are on the ground so I can cover the tubes to keep from collecting too much heat. The system does heat the house if the system gets too hot, not fun on a hot summer day.

[@beebob1279]

I was trying to figure out how one would keep the system from overheating in summer. Simple solution. I’m trying to figure out if this would work in a treed property so in summer it heats only a little bit of water and in winter as trees shed their leaves the tubes produce more hot water as needed. Do you have any idea who I would contact in the states to find out?

[@paulmaxwell8851]

That was a smart move, putting your collectors at ground level. Mine are on the roof where they are very difficult to cover. Now I'm trying to come up with remotely operated sliding covers of some type. Your approach is smarter.

[@ROAlexa1981]

Heat dumper is the solution to your problem ! I think I l put 2 underfloor circuites below the insulation to dump heat in the hottest day s!

[@jonashammar5273]

Shoutout to this channel... You are a freaking hero! I learned alot and love your work!. Bless you!

[@jackyleung9115]

Epic Roofing & Exteriors was a big part of the cladding and Standing Seam roof system. Congratulation's to both Tom and Cor!

[@RevolutionCPT]

This is literally the best thing I saw all month. And it's silly how this all works together. I just bought two Gosun stoves this summer and the second I saw the heating system, I instantly had a vague idea on how the heating system would work. All these genius ideas bleed into one another that could really help us all.

[@carpenterfamily6198]

The thermal system is great for making hot water. While the PV electrical system is great too, it would be silly to then use that electricity to make hot water. So having both systems is a great idea !

[@cupbowlspoonforkknif]

Yes. That's exactly why I'm into solar thermal! It's way more efficient to use the sun's energy directly.

[@joshuanorris9785]

this is great!

[@thevikingwolfpack836]

I'd like to try some day an use a few of the smaller ones as awning s over my windows an heat my water an house threw the year .

[@jasonmansfield5898]

Haha that's one spicy meatball!

[@erichawkins3915]

Be aware of the heat pipe cap, not having a vent hole, as in my early years testing my Apricus heat pipe collector, which was 100% plugged up, so no heat expansion could escape. We have some power cuts in parts of the country on one of the hottest days of the year, so when the power came back on again, the thermal shock of the cooler water imploded the inner tubes. We went back to re designing the positioning of the heat pipe to be off set, tight to the glass, with a fully open tube. No more implosion problems since 2003

[@paulmaxwell8851]

Never rely entirely on grid power. Our evacuated tube array has a 24V pump running directly off a PV panel. We have grid power but don't count on it. If your glycol just sits there during a power failure while the sun shines the glycol will be ruined and the entire system must be drained, cleaned and refilled.

[@erichawkins3915]

Hi Paul, happy new year. I have never used any glycol in my UK solar central heating system, since 2003. My big problem since I lost my SWH distribution business in 2009, is to explain why many SWH system fail is all about the type of hot water storage. My home tank is vented, my Apricus tube collector heats the tank direct. The same water in the tank passes through my 12 steel radiators, while my potable water at pressure passes through an external plate exchanger. But our large comercial tanks made in Sth Africa only up to 10,000 litres have heat exchanger coils inside. Go to www.thermotube.biz and look at the youtube video. We have freezing and snow in the south of England, but my Solar controller protect the small water in the header through a frost protection built into the Sorel controller. But for your 24 volt PV system, you just add Glycol into the hot water thermal store, during the filling by a header tank of 4 galls located above the thermal store. Once the hot water tank i first developed in 1991 is understood, all the closed loop/glycol problems are gone. e-mail me at [e-mail]

[@erichawkins3915]

This only happens if you install close loop pressure system on the solar loop into the cylinder. Dump the pressure cylinder and closed loop kit and go direct, but still benifit from hot water at mains pressure, but not direct through the tank. Your closed loop system is why the fluid heats up above 100c, in a open system, the fluid expands back into the vented tank.

[@avid0g]

@@erichawkins3915 Two broken links...

[@paulmaxwell8851]

@@erichawkins3915 Hi Eric, from central British Columbia, Canada. Your system sounds very interesting! We have no choice but to use glycol here because of the severe cold. Yes, a glycol system with heat exchanger is more complexity and more money. But we regularly drop to minus 30C most winters, and some winters can hit minus 40C. We use a strong mix of glycol and water so it doesn't gel and become un-pumpable. As I mentioned above, we still make hot water at these very low temperatures because we're known for our sunny winters.

[@jjelimbi]

Please can you give me the cost of that system? I'm planning to do the same in my city ( grande Prairie)

[@guiltfreehotwater4354]

did u get a price? are u still interested? i have Free info on my site, nothing to sell! Guilt Free Hot Water

[@brianbellomy3697]

Can you use this in a boiler system?

[@guiltfreehotwater4354]

sorry they din not reply but i dont see why not? its just another form of heat

[@erichawkins3915]

Solar technology has now moved up another step, by converting solar PV panels to PVT. PV + thermal is now a big growing market in Europe, while my own low cost hybrid combined with a water to water heat pump is now on test in Australia. Solar PV panels are now at such a low cost $0.30 a watt, so it is now cost effective to add a low cost thermal exchanger to the back of the larger panels (270-330 watt). With our PVT system combined with a thermal store, we do not need all the extra plumbing/closed loop system cost or gylcol. We developed the PVT +HP hybrid for the business market from Aquaponics to the food processing industry and Hospitalty industry. By cooling down the PV panel to its test efficiency temperature (26c, you increase PV output)

[@w8stral]

Link? Looked, but they aren't using it to heat their home from what I see. Combined with heat pump possibly? For ST to be cost effective you need to reach 50C. Then you need a giant insulated solar storage tank of roughly 10,000 liters up north. Down south? No need.

[@erichawkins3915]

For the past 16 yrs, my UK house has gained support heating from my 44 heat pipe collectors installed 16 yrs ago, no need for massive storage, just use the days sunlight to keep the house from going cold during the day time. As long as the house is insulated. I only run my gas boiler for 1 hr in the morning and then it switches on at 4.30pm this time of the year.

[@w8stral]

1) Bet you have a common wall to your neighbors 2) UK doesn't exactly have cold temperatures below freezing 3) You probably keep your house cool(perfectly acceptable to save money as we all wish to do.) 4) If you had a hot water storage tank and a larger array you could probably get away without a heater for 99% of the year. PS: From Seattle. We do not get sun for 3 months in a row, so we must have storage. PPS: I use fixed compound parabolic mirrors I built myself. Get higher quality heat than vacuum tubes and I can clean them easily unlike the tubes which is a MAJOR issue with all the leaves/needles/pollen in spring/fall time. ANother thing most PV people "forget" to mention. You must clean them and have access to do so. @@erichawkins3915

[@erichawkins3915]

My 2 x 22 tube heat pipe Apricus collectors are on my south facing 40 degree roof, while my 250 liter open vented thermal store I developed since 1991, is located in the attic, so very close to flow and return of the collector. Sorry to tell you, but the south of England has seen minus 10c and depths of snow up to 6 inches, which I have many photo of. but even when freezing nights, next day is blue sky, which is all the collector needs to deliver 45-50c, direct into my thermal store which connects to my 12 steel radiators. I never use Glycol, never have any freezing in the collector manifold as my German controller has a built in frost stat. Today my house is running at 20.5c most days, while outside this time of year is around 12-14c warm for time of the year, but my 18yr old mid terrace house is cavity wall insulated with thermal blocks on the inside, insulated floors and loft space. My new heat pipe collector has a heat pipe condenser which shuts down at 80c, but to maximize the use of this thermal energy for heating support, you need a vented thermal store, as now being built in Sth Africa up to 1,600 liters. This allows over sizing of the collectors without the worry to over heat water for sanitary use only ion summer months, when the space heating is shut down. I agree with everything you say, and only last year I decided to buy a extension window washing brush system to clean my tubes after years of not touching them. But still if I shut the pump off, the sun shining, my collector will soon heat past 100c, as I hate closed loop systems, just increases system costs. @w8stral I am now focused on my solar thermal cooling exchanger, which converts PV panels to PVT, just waiting for final approval on a Patent, my Australia invested in 9 months ago

[@erichawkins3915]

Its all about how you programe your back up gas boiler system, as long as your house is insulated. Example: My gas boiler switches on at 7am, which heats my 250 litre thermal store which is connected to my radiators, while my potable water is provided indirect through a heat exchanger. The boiler switches off at 8.15am , haveing heated my thermal store to 70c, and the house is now warm at 21c, showers completed, and ready to work from my home office. At 9.30am, my central heating radiator pump switches on, to maintain the water temperature through the 12 radiators, only if the central thermostat shows heat has been lost in the house. Subject to the weather, during winter months (does not matter how cold it is when useing tube collectors) as what we want is clear blue skies or cloudy/blue skies. Today my solar is running at 48c, into my tank and then into my radiators all through the day. The more solar you dump into your home heating, the greater the efficiency

[@firefox39693]

How does it work in cloudy weather?

[@avid0g]

It circulates water more slowly and still reaches the desired output temperature. Vacuum tubes are great!

[@guiltfreehotwater4354]

@@avid0g Yeah bc of the Vaccum ,it Traps the Heat even if its very cold

[@kubanychalimov7318]

How we can contact with technical person? We went to get some seminar from them.

[@w8stral]

Simple Solar, Calgary, Canada.

[@erichawkins3915]

Thermaltricity International UK, not just about solar thermal, but also solar PVT coupled to ground source heat pumps and thermal stores up to 10,000 litres we have assembled flat pack in Sth Africa since 2014

[@guiltfreehotwater4354]

i have Free info for what i did , at Guilt Free Hot Water

[@waitemc]

1 hail storm away from hell. Lol

[@davidhyer3404]

How does it hold up to hail?

[@georgedemean2228]

I heard that it withstands up to 1" hail

[@paulmaxwell8851]

We've never had a problem, but then we don't get the monster hailstones they get on the prairies. Our biggest are about, oh, maybe 3/4 inch.

[@guiltfreehotwater4354]

@@paulmaxwell8851 and if u put at a Hi Angle that will also protect the Pyrex like so very hard Tubes and will "Chase that Winer Sun and shade it selff in summer when it has to much HOT

[@paulmaxwell8851]

@@guiltfreehotwater4354 Yes, you're right. My panels sit at 52 degrees. I don't know what I was thinking. Steeper would have been smarter because we get a lot of snow here (central British Columbia). Live and learn!

[@afreemanreigns]

Why don't somebody take that Hot water-steam and use it to power a generator? Steam engine powering your generator should work in the southern areas with ease.

[@AnthonyBrusca]

That's exactly what they do in concentrated solar plants, except it's done in a turbine.

[@christo930]

80 whole systems in 8 years? That's like 10 a year. Why not put auto or truck radiators in the solar thermal box, painted black of course? This would likely be much more efficient at capturing the heat of the sun. Radiators are very efficient at heat transfer. A 220hp engine running at full output at 23% thermal efficiency is putting off 717 kilowatts of heat continuously. The radiator is able to exchange most of that heat with the air continuously, at least for a while. A radiator is very good at equalizing the temperate gradient between the inside and outside of the radiator.

[@whatthefunction9140]

you didn't show how he is getting electricity from thermal system...

[@TheViewFromUpHere]

He isn't. There is 5.5KW of solar PV mounted flat on the roof.

[@whatthefunction9140]

oh I see, they made it sound like they were generating electricity in some revolutionary way. Its just a how water heater.

[@cupbowlspoonforkknif]

The hot water is then circulated around the house to heat it. You could combine it with in-floor heating but I don't know if that's what they did here.

[@avid0g]

@@whatthefunction9140 There are wide horizontal photovoltaic collectors at the top of the thermal collector tubes for powering the DC motor circulation pumps.

[@beebob1279]

I guess the hot water ( glycol ) could be run through a radiator system from a large storage tank in winter? I would just be sure the house is super insulated

[@singularity844]

Is anyone trying to develop an invisible solar wall?

[@w.o.jackson8432]

4:53 "That's one spicy meatball." Really? How do you say that line without killing yourself in shame? How do you edit that into the video with doing the same?

[@peterxyz3541]

Solar thermal is cheaper than PV. People can DIY a solar heat system (cheap) but PV will always need a PV manufacturing

[@jokkiossaka3306]

Very... ugly... and many money...

[@ElectrifiedStud]

@Jossi Ossa So were our primitive ancestors, isn't it?

[@jokkiossaka3306]

@@ElectrifiedStud remember that we are now in 2021

[@joaquimdesouza2045]

Very unwise thermal system ,typical example of waiting money one 30 tubes collector is more than enough for that residence .Video should be titled "How to waist money"

[@moonxshakti]

*"wasting", *"waste" It's called ingenuity and research. Much fine progress has been made this way. I'm sure if it was too much free heat for his climate, he would know. Obviously he is testing different designs and factors.

[@w8stral]

Uh, NO. You clearly have no idea how much heat your house needs... unless you live in California or some other state/nation below 30 degrees North where you need no heat other than for hot water. ON top of that, He is in CALGARY CANADA. It is DAMNED COLD up there and the sun does not shine for long periods.

[@ivansanchezcedeno297]

Kon teléfono tele una bomba búlgara rékordes cementerios de evropa N1