How do you build a solar panel & hook it up to a hot water heater as a supplement (build from scratch)?

I would actually build two---each facing in a different direction, but somehow connected, then on to the water heater intake.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, December 6th, 2009 at 4:56 pm and is filed under Solar Power. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “How do you build a solar panel & hook it up to a hot water heater as a supplement (build from scratch)?”

dartiator63 on December 6th, 2009 at 5:40 pm

Ever felt how hot the water in a garden hose is from just sitting in the sun? So…. Run a hose on your roof, attached with blocking or clamps and have it preheat the water going into your water heater. if you want to get fancy, you could build a box, and plumb it with several rows of cpvc pipe ( not pvc as it will rot in the sun).
Paint them and the box black to increase the absorption of the UV rays from the sun , thus giving a better performance and hotter water. You can add parabolic mirrors or lens if you really want to cook, but this seems like overkill. Don’t forget to add a bypass and shut off for freezing weather, you don’t want to leave the water in the unit and have to rebuild it.

Zero Is The New Black