Advanced Solar Heating Systems

Specializing in Solar Hot Water for

Off Grid and On Grid  locations

throughout

Vermont

Solar Path Finder

 
Advanced Solar Heating Systems provides the highest quality solar hot water and auxiliary heating equipment to Vermont and the greater New England area.  The combination of an efficient solar collection / storage system with radiant floor heat delivery, in a well insulated home (R20 walls - R60 ceilings) can provide up to a 50% reduction in total energy usage. We also have experience adding large thermal storage tanks to wood gasification boilers which increase the efficiency of the system while reducing the frequency of adding fuel to the boiler.  We also can design hydronic heating systems for new construction or existing homes, preferably tied into solar heating. Solar Hot Water Systems: Solar hot water (SHW) systems, these days, are fully integrated with the existing domestic hot water systems. They are usually sized to provide 75% of the required domestic hot water. The medium of collecting the heat energy from the sun is typically a dark, tempered glass covered 4 foot by 8 foot aluminum box with nontoxic food grade antifreeze flowing through copper tubes. This collection surface is an engineered surface that draws the heat from the sunlight in an efficient manner.  All collectors sold in the USA are certified, to produce a rated amount of thermal energy in BTU’s per day by the Solar Rating Certification Corporation. This information is readily available on line. There are literally hundreds of rated solar hot water collectors on the SRCC website. It is the BTU rating output per day that is used by Advanced Solar Heating System personnel, in conjunction with various state rebate organizations to calculate how much state incentive money will be put towards the total cost of your SHW system.   We have installed over the past 5 years, a variety of different brands of SHW collectors on roofs and ground mounts. When these SHW collectors are connected via copper tubing (code requirement), the heat energy is transferred indirectly by a pump through the coils in the solar storage tank. The preheated water then flows from the solar storage tank into the existing auxiliary domestic hot water tank or tank less hot water heater. The potable water either flows right through to your point of use, if at temperature, or is heated as needed. The sizing of domestic solar hot water systems depend on the household’s usage.  Residential systems often vary between one and four collectors. Solar Hot Water and Wood Boilers Combined ( any type boiler will work): We have also added large capacity heat storage tanks (820 gals. of water) to wood gasification boilers with solar hot water control tie in. The solar hot water tank essentially acts as your battery in solar hot water systems. The temperature of your water in the tank is essentially state of charge in your battery and the volume of a tank or tanks affects the total amount of energy capable of being stored at any given time. The incorporation, of multiple collectors with larger thermal storage tanks, into solar hot water systems enables a homes heating and hot water system to better utilize captured solar energy for longer periods of inclement weather.   Solar Hot Water and Radiant / Home Heating Combined: If you want warm floors and increased energy efficiency, we also install radiant / home heating systems which dovetail nicely with solar systems for space heating. Tying into a home radiant heating system typically requires more collectors than a system for domestic hot water alone, because of the increased demand for hot water. The sizing of a radiant/home heating systems usually depend on the size of the radiant system and or heated space(s).  Rough quotes can be provided over the phone, but site evaluations are required for more precise cost estimates. Site evaluation costs are billed at $50/hour, payable at time of site visit. Solar Hot Water System Costs Solar domestic hot water system total installed costs range from $8000 to $12,000 before Vt state incentive contribution average $500 per collector and 30% federal solar tax credit taken at tax time off the total price of the solar installation.   Solar space heating installations which provide 40 to 60% of your total heat energy are in the $25,000 range depending on your house size, insulation and air infiltration values.

 

Contact Us: 413-588-4836

ashsvt@me.com