[randen]

The results we have had with the solar hot water heating are nothing short of spectacular. When we had first began to think of the possibility of heating with the solar we had a look around to see if anyone else had some success. My research lead me to Gary Reysa of Build It Solar and his solar garden shed. He had some very good results with his system. The reduction of propane for his space heating had been reduced markedly. Gary was installing tubing on top of the floor and covering, I think with ceramic tiles. The system I'm familiar with is quik trak panels. We were very lucky to already have a heated concrete slab which is one of the key elements of the lower temperature heating and to act as a heat battery. If one was to convert all their living space to the heated floor tiles and circulate the solar heated fluid through it would make the house very comfortable. The addition of a solar insulated tank 500-1000 gals would help to carry the heat through the evening. I had seen a suggestion of 10-30% of the floor area would be the recommended amount of flat plate solar panel area. If the panels are mounted vertically on a south facing wall they collect the most amount of heat from the lower angle of the suns exposure in the winter and don't collect snow as well in the summer they don't over-heat.

Gary and my system both use the suns heat directly for the space heating. The solar heat is a priority. By this I mean if the solar heat is avalible the other method of heating is suspended until there is no longer any solar input. This is quite simple when the circulation pump for the solar is turned on a relay interrups the backup heat source.

My result last year after installing solar hot water for both domestic and space heating reduced my electric bill by $1200.00 During the months from about March to October the electric water heat element was used only about three days. The amount of space heating is hard to quantify as I don't meter the run time but the end result is very good.

Randen