What are Solar Water Heaters?
Solar water heaters are also referred to as solar domestic hot water systems. They use sunlight, a free energy source, to heat the water that is used in a home.System PartsA solar water heating system has two main parts: solar collectors and water storage tanks. The solar collectors trap the energy of the sun and use it to heat the water, which is then kept for use in a well-insulated storage tank.System TypesThere are both active and passive solar hot water systems. An active system uses pumps and controls to transfer water to and from the solar collectors and storage tanks, while a passive system depends on gravity and water temperature to circulate the water–warm water rises above cold water. While passive systems are generally less expensive to install than active systems, they are also usually less efficient.Solar CollectorsThere are two main types of solar collectors used in residential hot water systems in the U.S.: flat-plate collectors and integrated collector-storage systems
