Solar water heating and other stuff in Greece

Elcam84 · 10-06-18, 04:34 PM

Well we spent almost two weeks in Athens and Naxos and I found allot of things there interesting.

Everywhere we stayed had solar water heaters. They work very well there. We never had to turn the electric heating elements on anywhere. Even our last night as it was getting windy and overcast all day from the impending cyclone that hit just after we left... We both took showers that night and then again the next morning before heading to the airport. There was no shortage of scalding hot water even in the morning. Yes very hot scalding water.
I stopped into every tool store and building supply I could find... The one place with the solar water heaters said they run anywhere from $500 to 1K for most of them. Course here in the US they would be 10X that...

Everywhere had the typical european windows however they also had the roll up shutters on the outside with some of them being electric. Have always liked those windows but they cost a massive fortune here compared to our US spec crap.

Electricity runs around .19/kwh euro cents there which is very pricey for them there. So our place on Naxos had the key holder by the door to turn the power on while in the room. Nice idea but you cant charge your power banks while you are out of the room. We had to take the rfid off the keyring so our batteries could charge while we were at dinner.

Minisplits.... Well after looking at the sizes they use and talking to one installer in athens they do it as you would suspect. Since they turn their AC off when they leave the house they greatly oversize their units so they will get down to temp quickly when you get home. Since its a very dry climate this works well but here it does not.
Also the Ferry we took back was champion Jet 1. It uses a ton of mini split units to cool the ship (located up top to the rear in the middle between the fake center smoke stack). They have mitsubishi ceiling units in the boat. They do not work well. I would hate to be on that ferry when its full of people and in the heat of august. Very fast ferry though and any ferry that's jet powered is cool.

On the subject of water... Their toilets are well horrible. Every place we stayed had new modern toilets two of them had those square bowl things. They are dual flush but both buttons just dump a ton of water in and they barely flush. They use more water than the really old US made ones. Like other countries you cant flush toilet paper and they always say its due to their pipes which is not correct. Their issue is their toilet paper does not break down like ours as theirs is basically heavy paper towels similar to the blue shop rags.

I only found cheap tools at the tool stores and the green bosch tools. Was hoping for some eastern eurpoean stuff but no luck. Bringing back a solar water heater just wouldn't fit in the plane...
Interesting to see how they handle things in person rather than just pictures etc. We are now planning to go back to Naxos next september. (very affordable)

Daox · 11-02-18, 09:22 AM

Very interesting. What style of hot water heaters were most prevalent there?

Elcam84 · 11-02-18, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

Very interesting. What style of hot water heaters were most prevalent there?

Here is a pic i took from the last apartment we rented. Every building has them in varying numbers...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JWkoJ9iKb71ojzdt5

Daox · 11-02-18, 02:40 PM

Mind if I move the pic to ER?

Elcam84 · 11-02-18, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

Mind if I move the pic to ER?

Not at all. Just the quickest way i could post at the time.

jeff5may · 11-02-18, 11:24 PM

Looks like a heat pipe / evacuated tube collector that thermosiphons heat into a batch tank. Very effective and not expensive. Average Americans dislike them because they aren't invisible. Many interested homeowners are dissuaded by their picky neighbors.

Elcam84 · 11-03-18, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff5may

Looks like a heat pipe / evacuated tube collector that thermosiphons heat into a batch tank. Very effective and not expensive. Average Americans dislike them because they aren't invisible. Many interested homeowners are dissuaded by their picky neighbors.

Yup they also have a built in heating element for when its been shady r in the winter. They work extremely well. The one they had at the shop I stopped at looked decently built. They build them in Greece.

I would like one for the house and one for the shop as well. The one for the shop not for hot water but to provide hot water for a radiator and fan for heating the shop. It would work well in most of our winter here.

But like you mentioned having them here... People preach about energy efficiency but as soon as they realize what is involved they shut it down. The usual NIMBY problem.

jeff5may · 11-04-18, 02:20 AM

Hey, pssst... Come here buddy....
You know, you can harvest the heat out of the ridge of the attic the same way, right? And the best thing is, the collector is inside the roof. Tell me something: how much of that cheap black water pipe do you think you'll need?

Elcam84 · 11-04-18, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff5may

Hey, pssst... Come here buddy....
You know, you can harvest the heat out of the ridge of the attic the same way, right? And the best thing is, the collector is inside the roof. Tell me something: how much of that cheap black water pipe do you think you'll need?

True. And here there is no problem with excess heat in the attic in the summer here. And really we don't need those fancy collectors here in the summer either. At a friends shop years ago we had a sink out back and wanted hot water so we just put two commercial hot water hoses on the roof inline of the sink. No shortage of scalding hot nearly boiling hot water and we just put the hoses on the roof without uncoiling them...

As to using abs I cant get that stuff here. Its only used in trailers here so its hard to find. I can get the odd fitting at an ace or true value out in the sticks but I have never seen anyone selling ABS pipe. PVC is code for houses here.

CrankyDoug · 11-04-18, 07:10 PM

Those rooftop heaters are almost universal in parts of the pacific rim. Alas, like much of the stuff in S.E. Asia, the one on the roof of my inlaws house was broken. I think they enjoyed listening to me shudder taking a cold shower.

10-06-18, 04:34 PM	#1
Elcam84 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: TX Posts: 275 Thanks: 2 Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts	Solar water heating and other stuff in Greece Well we spent almost two weeks in Athens and Naxos and I found allot of things there interesting. Everywhere we stayed had solar water heaters. They work very well there. We never had to turn the electric heating elements on anywhere. Even our last night as it was getting windy and overcast all day from the impending cyclone that hit just after we left... We both took showers that night and then again the next morning before heading to the airport. There was no shortage of scalding hot water even in the morning. Yes very hot scalding water. I stopped into every tool store and building supply I could find... The one place with the solar water heaters said they run anywhere from $500 to 1K for most of them. Course here in the US they would be 10X that... Everywhere had the typical european windows however they also had the roll up shutters on the outside with some of them being electric. Have always liked those windows but they cost a massive fortune here compared to our US spec crap. Electricity runs around .19/kwh euro cents there which is very pricey for them there. So our place on Naxos had the key holder by the door to turn the power on while in the room. Nice idea but you cant charge your power banks while you are out of the room. We had to take the rfid off the keyring so our batteries could charge while we were at dinner. Minisplits.... Well after looking at the sizes they use and talking to one installer in athens they do it as you would suspect. Since they turn their AC off when they leave the house they greatly oversize their units so they will get down to temp quickly when you get home. Since its a very dry climate this works well but here it does not. Also the Ferry we took back was champion Jet 1. It uses a ton of mini split units to cool the ship (located up top to the rear in the middle between the fake center smoke stack). They have mitsubishi ceiling units in the boat. They do not work well. I would hate to be on that ferry when its full of people and in the heat of august. Very fast ferry though and any ferry that's jet powered is cool. On the subject of water... Their toilets are well horrible. Every place we stayed had new modern toilets two of them had those square bowl things. They are dual flush but both buttons just dump a ton of water in and they barely flush. They use more water than the really old US made ones. Like other countries you cant flush toilet paper and they always say its due to their pipes which is not correct. Their issue is their toilet paper does not break down like ours as theirs is basically heavy paper towels similar to the blue shop rags. I only found cheap tools at the tool stores and the green bosch tools. Was hoping for some eastern eurpoean stuff but no luck. Bringing back a solar water heater just wouldn't fit in the plane... Interesting to see how they handle things in person rather than just pictures etc. We are now planning to go back to Naxos next september. (very affordable)

11-02-18, 09:22 AM	#2
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Very interesting. What style of hot water heaters were most prevalent there? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

11-02-18, 02:40 PM	#4
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Mind if I move the pic to ER? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

11-02-18, 11:24 PM	#6
jeff5may Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA Posts: 2,431 Thanks: 431 Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts	Looks like a heat pipe / evacuated tube collector that thermosiphons heat into a batch tank. Very effective and not expensive. Average Americans dislike them because they aren't invisible. Many interested homeowners are dissuaded by their picky neighbors.

11-04-18, 02:20 AM	#8
jeff5may Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA Posts: 2,431 Thanks: 431 Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts	Hey, pssst... Come here buddy.... You know, you can harvest the heat out of the ridge of the attic the same way, right? And the best thing is, the collector is inside the roof. Tell me something: how much of that cheap black water pipe do you think you'll need?

11-04-18, 07:10 PM	#10
CrankyDoug Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Georgia Posts: 100 Thanks: 6 Thanked 14 Times in 11 Posts	Those rooftop heaters are almost universal in parts of the pacific rim. Alas, like much of the stuff in S.E. Asia, the one on the roof of my inlaws house was broken. I think they enjoyed listening to me shudder taking a cold shower.