What is a Heat Exchanger in Solar Water Heaters?

Any solar water heater system uses heat exchangers so that solar energy can be transfered and absorbed, only to be used in order to heat water or heat space. A heat exchanger can be created out of bronze, steel, copper, stainless steel, cast iron or aluminum. In most cases copper is utilized as it is a really good thermal conductor. It will also provide good levels of corrosion resistance. Let us analyze some common heat exchanger types that you might want to utilize.

Basically we have 2 heat exchanger types: air to liquid and liquid to liquid. Heat transfer fluid is used by all heat exchangers designed for liquid to liquid solar systems. It basically circulates through solar collectors, absorbs heat and goes through heat exchangers so that heat is transferred towards the water in the storage tank. A number of heat transfer fluids will protect the collectors from freezing. Such a liquid to liquid heat exchanger system will use 1 or 2 barriers in order to be properly effective. Any heat exchanger constructed through a system based on 1 wall will have a tube or a pipe that is always surrounded by fluid. Double wall exchangers are using 2 fluids and show two walls between them. Double walled solar water systems are needed so that safety offered is higher. The problem is that their efficiency is not as big when compared to single systems. All air to liquid systems will include the use of air heater collectors. They usually never need heat exchangers in between sollar collectors and air distribution systems. The two exchanger systems stand out as being highly similar besides the fact that one uses air and the other liquid.

Whenever building your new solar water heater heat exchanger system you should think about sizing too. If you want all to be really effective one important factor is size. Whenever thinking about this topic you need to consider the heat exchanger types, the heat transfer fluid characteristics, flow rates and temperatures for inlet and outlet for the fluids used. Ratings are usually given by most manufacturers for every heat exchanger out there. For you to make really good decisions you should read specifications.