Closed Loop Water Heater

Closed loop and drainback solar water heaters drainback and closed loop systems provide freeze protection for year round operation in cold climates.

Closed loop water heater.

A hot water loop uses a small pump to circulate hot water between a water heater and a distant bathroom or kitchen. The valves that are usually found in the closed systems are the check valve pressure reducing valve mixing valve backflow preventer and other. This is only an example. Most new solar homes feature a variation of one kind or another.

Closed loop active antifreeze systems are the most versatile and failsafe of all the solar supplemental water heating systems. When the controller senses that the sun is shining and your tank needs a warm up it signals the pump to send water through the black collector panels. A closed water heater system means that the hot water cannot expand beyond the valves and mix with the municipal water. Tankless water heater as a heat source with domestic hot water.

Closed loop solar heating system here s how a solar powered water heater works. The critical difference between these is the amount of exposure the water has to the air. The water from the boiler to this heat exchanger flows 24 hours a day in a closed loop making the heat exchanger continuously active i e. However doing so in a way that doesn t waste a lot of energy is a little trickier.

Glycol or some equivalent antifreeze fluid fills the collector and associated routing pipes. Actual layouts vary from job to job. A special water heater tank incorporating a heat exchanger works in conjunction with one or more flat plate roof mounted collectors. This is called a closed loop heating system with domestic water.

Each has its advantage when part of a cooling or heating system. The advantages of a continuously active heat exchanger loop are twofold. Closed loop solar water heater systems sometimes referred to as anti freeze or glycol systems include the heat collectors insulated piping a circulating pump an expansion tank a hot water storage tank a heat exchanger solar fluid usually a solution of water and nontoxic propylene glycol antifreeze a controller valves and gauges. The heated water then flows into the storage tank before it s channeled into the heat exchanger.

Creating the loop is fairly easy. Because the water is used in a closed loop with no direct feed water source heaters are typically built to asme section viii and do not require a licensed boiler operator. Whenever needed the storage tank draws heat from the heat exchanger and maintains a constant tank temperature. Closed loop liquid phase hot water or glycol solution systems are an excellent choice for indirect process heating up to approximately 300f.

A continuously operating pump is clearly wasteful. This is an example of how to set up a tankless water heater as a heat source and for your domestic hot water.