Hot water at home is a standard nowadays. It can be obtained in various ways: using gas or coal boilers, heat pumps or solar collectors. However, photovoltaic sets for heating water in boilers offer great savings and at the same time reliability.
Photovoltaic panels have become a very popular solution, reducing electricity bills for many years. An additional motivation for their installation are government subsidies, although the latest program is much less attractive than the previous one. However, it is still worth it. There are no obstacles to using photovoltaics to heat water.
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This solution requires some financial outlays, but then you no longer have to pay for showering, bathing or cooking. Heating does not require much power, sets consisting of only four photovoltaic panels with a power of 2-4 kWp are usually sufficient. The market also offers versions with six or eight panels. Taking into account the ever-increasing electricity bills, such an investment will quickly pay off. It is also worth considering such an installation in a summer house or a garden gazebo, for which the cost of building an electricity connection and transmission fees is unprofitable. This solution will certainly increase the comfort of your stay.
Why is it worth heating water with photovoltaics?
The photovoltaic water heating set itself is not too complicated. It requires the connection of only a few elements, which are delivered as a set, with protected elements. Therefore, there is little risk of failure. There is enough sunlight in Poland to generate electricity using panels virtually all year round, apart from nights and heavily cloudy periods.
There are many advantages to heating domestic water using a photovoltaic panel system. Thanks to such a micro-installation we obtain:
- free heating
- maintenance-free operation (no need to turn on or off, as in furnaces)
- failure-free thanks to the simple construction of the panels, without moving parts
- year-round operation, practical regardless of the weather
- hot water available all year round
- long-term performance - as in typical micro-installations, up to about 25 years
- huge savings if the water is already heated with electricity
- possibility of using the set for other purposes
Individual elements of a photovoltaic set
Photovoltaic micro-installations are divided into two types:
- off-grid – operating outside the grid. It does not have to be reported to the power company, but for efficient operation it is worth purchasing an energy storage unit (a type of battery that stores electricity).
- on-grid - surplus production is transferred to the power grid, in the new program it can be sold, but not used in the event of shortages of production from the home installation.
For water heating using photovoltaics, you can purchase a ready-made set consisting of photovoltaic panels, an inverter , i.e. a voltage converter that converts direct current generated by the solar installation into alternating current used in the network, and usually 25-30 m long cables with MC4 connectors on one side. side and eyelet connectors to the converter on the other. Mounting kits are usually not included and must be purchased separately. Many sets use the Eco Solar Boost MPPT-3000 PRO converter with a power of 3.5 kW, which allows the operation of two devices. These can be two boilers, but you can also use one socket for other purposes, e.g. underfloor heating.
In the case of relatively simple elements, you can risk assembling them yourself, but it is recommended to use the services of specialists. Contrary to appearances, it is not that difficult to make a mistake without professional knowledge.
In the case of domestic water heating, high installation power is unnecessary. Usually 2 to 4 kW is enough, much less than to heat the entire building. As a result, a photovoltaic water heating set contains a smaller number of photovoltaic modules.
Operation of the photovoltaic set
The entire system functions on a similar principle to a normal photovoltaic installation. The direct current produced by the panels goes to the inverter, converted into alternating current and fed into the home network. When heating water, electricity is used by the heater in the boiler. However, it should be remembered that it does not require more power than the heating set offers, so that the water is not too cold. And it must be equipped with a thermostat that maintains the set temperature.
Of course, apart from water heating, the sets can be used for other electricity consumers. However, to a small extent. To meet the needs of the entire house and its equipment, installations with much higher power are needed. They can also warm the water. The choice depends on your needs, pocket space and panel space. Small boiler kits are often mounted on the ground rather than on the roof. They are usually also prepared to work outside the power grid.
How much does a photovoltaic kit cost?
Compared to the entire photovoltaic installation, the photovoltaic kit is not that expensive. The elements of this assortment include: 4-8 solar panels, a set of cables and a converter. Strong price increases in Poland mean that installations with four modules cost approximately PLN 5.5-6 thousand. zloty. With a larger number of panels and higher power, you have to take into account expenses of approximately PLN 8,000. zloty.
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A photovoltaic set is the future for households
A photovoltaic set is one of the available methods of heating domestic water. Compared to devices powered by gas or mains electricity, it has the indisputable advantage that it allows you to forget about fee increases and enjoy hot water heated for free. It is also much better than the obsolete solar collectors. These are complex structures with many mechanical devices, pumps and controllers. Many of them require separate power supply from the network and the use of gel batteries. As a result, they are not cost-free, but due to their complex elements, they are susceptible to failures. The newest ones have fewer flaws, but that's why their prices are not low.
Technical progress means that photovoltaics is becoming better and more efficient. Boiler water heating kits offer (after a one-time cost) several dozen years of free energy obtained from solar radiation converted into electricity. Their advantages can be used not only by family homes, but also by other facilities, e.g. agritourism farms that host tourists seasonally.
Heating water using photovoltaic installations brings not only economic and utility benefits, but also environmental benefits by eliminating CO2 emissions and air pollution.