Introduction to Energy Efficient Geysers

Energy Efficient Geysers are becoming more popular among South African home owners, because they fix the problem of high electricity bills. Interestingly enough, using the sun to heat water has been around for quite some time. In fact, it’s a technology that can be traced back to before the 1900’s. Of course these systems weren’t nearly as efficient as those we use today, but it’s the idea behind it that counts. One of the main reasons why South Africans invest in Solar Geysers is because conventional geysers use great amounts of power. They contribute to the biggest part of your electricity bill. And while Eskom prices continue to rise, it’s only logical that you’ll start looking for cheaper alternatives. If you are one of those people who are considering solar water heating, but don’t really know what it entails, here is a basic introduction.

 

How Energy Efficient Geysers Work

The main components of Energy Efficient Geysers are storage tanks and solar collectors and they function in two different ways. The first method of functionality is through heating the water directly. The second method uses a heating liquid, which is a mixture of glycol and water. Where a typical geyser only has two ports, a solar geyser has four ports. The additional ports of a solar geyser are used to connect it to the collector. To put this into perspective, here is a simple sketch of how it works.

You’ll notice the sketch includes an additional backup tank. The purpose of the backup tank is to preheat the water before sending it to the conventional tank. You don’t have to use a two-tank system in order to utilize a solar water heating system, just so you know. This is just another way of making the system more efficient.

 

The Different Types of Collectors for Energy Efficient Geysers

As you may have figured out by now, the collector is another term for the solar panel. There are three main types of solar collectors, and they are:

• Flat-Plate Collectors
• Integral Collector-Storage Systems
• Evacuated-tube solar collectors

Each collector comes with a set of benefits. For example, evacuated tube collectors are very efficient during cloudy days. However, evacuated tube collectors also reach higher temperatures than flat-plate collectors. What’s important now is that these collectors gather energy from the sun, turns the radiation into heat, and sends the heat to the water. As mentioned earlier, water can be heated directly or the collector can use heating fluid. This is why the solar alternative is regarded as Energy Efficient Geysers.

 

The Different Water Heating Systems

Water heating systems are divided into two distinct categories, namely active and passive systems.

Active Systems

• Direct Circulation Systems
• Indirect Circulation Systems

Passive Systems

• Integral Collector-Storage Passive Systems
• Thermosyphon Systems

The main difference between these two systems is that active systems come with circulation pumps and controllers. Passive systems use a natural circulation process. For the most part there should be a backup system, which is handy during a cloudy day or when the demand is simply too much.

To get started with Energy-Efficient Geysers read the rest of this series, and understand how they operate because buying a setup that does not fit your needs prevents you from maximizing your savings. If you need help, contact us and we can assist you with your setup.

Flat Plate Geyser Conversion Kits

Evacuated Tube Conversion Kits

Pumped Conversion Kits

Thermosiphon Solar Geysers

Direct Thermosiphon Solar Geysers

Learn more about Solar Geysers in our easy to read guide here.