Hot Sun Industries Inc.
Hot Sun Industries Inc.
So, you want to divert the flow from your pool's filter through hundreds of feet of pipe and hundreds of square feet of thin black solar collector mounted on your house roof and you're nervous about the ramifications? You should be. There is more to this than meets the eye. You need the help of an expert. My name is Ken Wright. I have a degree in mechanical engineering. I've personally installed over 1000 solar pool heaters since 1986 and I've serviced thousands more. I've paid attention to the problem systems I've encountered and I've discovered the root causes of those problems. I've developed an intimate understanding of the mechanical situation and as a result I am uniquely qualified to help you install a trouble free solar heater for your pool with full confidence and warranty as if I'd done the installation for you. The installation work is simple but you need a proper design to work from and you need support throughout the project. I can give it to you and supply the whole system except the pvc piping. Its all UPS shippable.
Through extensive collaboration with universities and gov't we've learned to simulate the performance of a solar pool heater with remarkable accuracy. We've verified these curves repeatedly with real systems and found excellent correlation. Below is is a typical pool in San Diego CA with a little pool shade, located near the ocean where the collectors are on a south facing roof.
100% solar means a solar heater sized at 100% (same size) as the top surface of the pool. We also have compiled curves for many major cities in the US. Go here for performance predictions more specific to your location and for a full discussion on sizing a solar heating system for a pool.
The 300 million dollar a year solar industry consists of two product styles, flexible and rigid. The rigid ones come in various sizes the most common being 4x12 and you simply gang these modules together to form a bank or banks of collectors to provide the surface area needed to do the job. Several large factories in the US mass produce these polypropylene collectors, with standard mounting hardware. The experienced and skilled contractors that implement these systems have devised their own proprietary schemes for attaching these systems to all the various roof types. Our Powerpro colelctor is the best polypropylene collector we can get our hands on. We stock it ourselves and roll it up for ups shipping in our own machine. We supply it with the best mounting hardware for your unique situation including options like extra rows of stainless steel plastic coated strap
for high wind areas. Our no roof penetration schemes for tile roofs warrant your attention. See Powerpro for more on this collector type.
I'll tell you the bottom line when it comes to setting solar up for long term reliability. You can't expect a thin plastic collector to withstand extreme temperatures, thermal movement, aging etc all in combination with stress from pressure in the water. Take away the pressure and you compromise NOTHING. You simply allow the system to operate stress free the way it is intended and you've removed the source for problems. We end up solving other problems in this process and creating a harmonious smooth operating pool mechanical system. Esay to say. Not nearly as simple as you might think to accomplish.
This is our most common solar design for a simple pool without a spa and without "in-floor" cleaning built in where the collectors are elevated up at least one storey. This design requires that the pressure where solar ties in is low. For much more on this visit Proper Pool Mechanical System Design
Please take a look at this document It covers plumbing designs and automation options for your solar heater. We're proud of the animations we've created to help educate you.
Note that we include a bypass valve in the above design. In other words we don't try to force all the flow to solar. In very few cases with modern day pools is it advisable to send all the flow to solar. Note that with almost every solar pool heating kit you can buy, the design is always exactly the same, blindly send all the flow through solar and stop reverse flows at night with a one way valve. It works but it is dumb and it overloads the pool pump and the collectors in too many cases.
Often solar pool heaters go on the roof of the house. Last time I bought home insurance the agent asked me if there was a solar heater on the roof! In my career as a solar installer and service guy I can't begin to count the number of times I was called out to re and re a solar heater for re-roofing only to discover that the roof leaks necessitating the new roof were caused by the solar installation in the first place. This thing is big and black and it expands and contracts with temperature like crazy and unless the collector manufacturer and the system installer are fully aware and competent at taking this into account for your unique roof surface, the end result is eventually a roof leak . The single most important aspect of solar collector design in my opinion is compatibility with the roof.
On regular composition roofs and rack mounted installations we'll use Powerpro collectors which are standard rigid 4x12 polypropylene collectors with our own mounting hardware kits.
Our flexible product is much more flexible. Powerstrips come in any length up to 88 feet and are on headers that are 12.5" each. They glue down horizontally on wavy tile roofs for an amazing hidden look and they allow us to fit collector space where 4x12 grids won't. Powersrips are flexible so they can be used on flat roofs.
We also have extensive experience creating beautiful (beauty is in the eye of the beholder) ground level racks for solar panels.
You'll find a form buried in the sizing section. The biggest hurdle we all face when implementing a solar heater is finding a space for the collectors that is large enough to do what you want. There are no magic answers. We want a south facing roof. East or west is OK especially if the pitch isn't too great. North is NO GOOD except for the unusual case where you don't want a cover and you just want a warmer pool in mid summer. A roof that is flat is actually quite desirable and we have appropriate products and techniques available.
Next I suggest you learn more about the auto controls and plumbing and then click the appropriate link from this page to the type of roof surface you'll be mounting the system to. Once you're sold on the virtues of the best product for your situation click on Sizing to learn all about what to expect from a solar heater. You'll find a form you can fill in so I can fully specify and quote your solar heater.
Hot Sun Industries Inc.
Hot Sun Industries Inc.,
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All our products are UPS shippable