http://ppljuice.com/how-do-you-build-a-solar-panel-hook-it-up-to-a-hot-water-heater-as-a-supplement-build-from-scratch/ Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:09:26 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://ppljuice.com/how-do-you-build-a-solar-panel-hook-it-up-to-a-hot-water-heater-as-a-supplement-build-from-scratch/comment-page-1/#comment-134 dartiator63 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:37:48 +0000 http://ppljuice.com/how-do-you-build-a-solar-panel-hook-it-up-to-a-hot-water-heater-as-a-supplement-build-from-scratch/#comment-134 Ever felt how hot the water in a garden hose is from just sitting in the sun? So.... Run a hose on your roof, attached with blocking or clamps and have it preheat the water going into your water heater. if you want to get fancy, you could build a box, and plumb it with several rows of cpvc pipe ( not pvc as it will rot in the sun). Paint them and the box black to increase the absorption of the UV rays from the sun , thus giving a better performance and hotter water. You can add parabolic mirrors or lens if you really want to cook, but this seems like overkill. Don't forget to add a bypass and shut off for freezing weather, you don't want to leave the water in the unit and have to rebuild it. Ever felt how hot the water in a garden hose is from just sitting in the sun? So…. Run a hose on your roof, attached with blocking or clamps and have it preheat the water going into your water heater. if you want to get fancy, you could build a box, and plumb it with several rows of cpvc pipe ( not pvc as it will rot in the sun).
Paint them and the box black to increase the absorption of the UV rays from the sun , thus giving a better performance and hotter water. You can add parabolic mirrors or lens if you really want to cook, but this seems like overkill. Don’t forget to add a bypass and shut off for freezing weather, you don’t want to leave the water in the unit and have to rebuild it.

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