What is Solar Water Heater?

A solar water heater is a hot water system that utilizes solar energy (energy from sunlight) to heat water in cost-effective solutions. It fits on a terrace or any open space on the top of the building where it gets sunlight is then used to heat water and store it in an insulated tank. The solar water heater does not connect to the electricity grid; however, used to get the sunlight throughout the day to heat the water, and store it in the storage tank for your home, or any other desired applications.

The solar water heater incorporates high density compressed PUF insulation and an efficient heating element, which is capable of helping it to store hot water up to 48 hours. Therefore, it is best suitable for homes, apartments, hostels, and several other buildings. The solar water heater for home is made up of anti-corrosive material and advanced technology. Some of the features such as energy efficiency, durability, safe to use, and easy installation are the main reasons for which, the solar water heater has acknowledged in the market. 

The solar water heater is developed by all standards of quality and safety, thus ensuring safety for use at home. SolarClue is an online platform to buy solar water heater directly from top brands such as Supreme, V Guard, Havells, EMMVEE Solarizer, Racold, and Kamal Solar.

A solar water heater consists of a flat plate solar collector, a storage tank (kept at a height behind the collector), and connecting pipes. The collector is comprised of copper tubes welded to copper sheets (both coated with a highly absorbing black coating) with a toughened glass sheet on top, insulating material at the back, and the entire assembly placed in a flat box. There are certain types of solar water heater, where evacuated glass tubes used instead of copper and a separate cover sheet along with an insulating box not required in this case. 

The solar water heater is installed on the roof of the building, or open ground with the collector, and connected towards facing the sun for continuous water supply. The water flows through the tubes or solar panels are capable of absorbing solar heat to provide hot water. Then the heated water is stored in a tank for further use and the tank covers with a glass lid to prevent the loss of sunlight or heat due to convection and radiation. And, the hot water gets stored in the storage tank remains hot overnight as the tank is insulated. This is all about the working principle of the solar water heater.

The solar water heater price in India is different from several manufacturers and dealers. You can check out the list of prices from the top solar water heater manufacturers at SolarClue and analyze the features of the best solar water heater then select the best one.

There are mostly two types of solar water heaters available on SolarClue.

Flat Plate Collectors System (FPC): It is a typical solar water heating system and known for its longer life. The flat plate collector system is also called a selective coating that consists of an absorber plate and covered on its sun-facing surface with an absorbent coating. The absorber plate is placed in a top open box to protect it from weather and incorporated with a grid of metallic tubes and sheets that allow water to flow. Sheet absorbs the solar radiation falls on it and transfers it to water. The space between both the (front & back) sides of the absorber and the box is filled with insulation to reduce heat losses. Flat plate collectors are stated based on their area, commonly 1x2 m size.

The FPC water heater also can work in colder regions with freezing temperatures, but it needs an anti-freeze solution that makes the system expensive. A heat exchanger with an FPC system is required in those areas with salty water to avoid scale deposition that can impact the heating capability of the system.

Evacuated Tube Collectors System (ETC): This is another type of water heater made up of glass, hence fragile by its nature. It is ideal for colder regions where the temperature is subzero. The places where the water quality is salty, ETC requires regular cleaning due to the deposition of salt on the inner surface of glass tubes. 

Each of the evacuated tubes contains a glass outer tube and a metal absorber tube that is attached to a fin. The fin's coating generally absorbs solar energy but prevents radiative heat loss. This particular type of water heating system is used more frequently for U.S. commercial applications as compared to other uses. 

Both the types of water heaters are manufactured with, or without a pump, available on SolarClue. The water heater with a pump is used to move water from collectors to the storage tank. The other water heater without a pump is used utilizing the thermosiphon principle to move water from collectors to the storage tank automatically.

Pricing of a solar water heater varies from one brand to another as there are several brands available with SolarClue. When it comes to the price of the solar heater, the quality of the product, its durability, and reliability are three important things that do matter for customers. After analyzing such factors, people are only able to find the solar water heater price list from different brands. There are different types of solar water heaters on SolarClue, and according to that cost decides. Individuals who are interested to buy solar water heater can even compare the price as per different manufacturing brands and select the best one which suits their budget.