Heating With Solar Energy Assistance

Thermal solar systems for assisting space heating and hot water production have been particularly widespread for at least 10 years in several European countries such as Austria, Germany, Italy, France, etc.

Systems and technology that we use in Greece in recent years have been imported from these countries.

In our country, although it is particularly favored by weather conditions, these systems are not particularly well known and only in recent years, and mainly due to the rapid increase in the price of oil, some steps are being taken to utilize this technology.

Combined operation solar systems for DHW production and space heating can cover from 20% - 40% of the heating and hot water needs of a house, depending on the size of the collector surface, the volume of the water tank, the meteorological data of the area and the characteristics of the residence (size, quality of insulation, thermal needs).

In general, these systems consist of the solar collector circuit (energy production), the inertia tank (energy storage), an auxiliary energy system (oil or gas boiler, heat pump), a heating system (underfloors, fancoils) and a control system . The ideal application of the system is for low temperature heating systems (underfloors, fancoils), while for heating with radiators a reduction in efficiency by 10%-15% is expected.

The operating principle of the system is the same as that of a central solar system for DHW heating. The energy of the solar panels is transferred to a well-insulated boiler and heats first the central heating water and then the domestic hot water. If the solar energy is not sufficient, then the boiler is put into operation and supplements the required energy. With this method, a great saving of fuel is achieved and the heating of the premises and the water used is achieved in an environmentally friendly way.

One of the key elements of a proper solar heating system is the boiler, which is the "heart" of the system and must be specially designed and built for this purpose. The thermos container should be well insulated and above all help to stratify the temperature of the water inside it.

Stratification of the container results in maximum system efficiency, limiting heat losses and maximum energy collection from the solar panels.

Our company, in combination with CALPAK's high-performance VACUUM solar panels and SIEMENS compensation devices, offers complete space heating and DHW solutions with many applications which are already in successful use.