How can I test how good my passive/active solar heating is?

Question

I know that I can measure the temperature inside the water flow and the outside air temp. How can I calculate flow, efficiency and above all how good it will be at heating my home?

I do feel I have to say that this is a test panel and is not joined up to my heating just yet. Trying to perfect the system before installation.

Answer 1

call a heating expert

GOOGLE WORKS TO!

Answer 2

hmmm, well here goes

volume is calculated by the size of your collector pipe, pressure is regulated by the water pressure or the pump, flow is calculated by using manning coeff of the material you are using, the vol and the pressure.

The surface area of the collector is used to determine the time/concentration effect of your collector. The time/conc effect is used to determine the flowrate through your collector. Flow can be regulated with a valve at the beginning or the end.

Thermal absorption is how much heat the water will gain in the system. This is determined with all of the factors above, plus...the different sun angle/concentrations.

fter all of that, you will need to balance the effectiveness by measuring how much energy the pump used vs heat gain.

when you are readu to give up on all of that, there are valves that are temperature controlled to bleed the hot water into your system.

a low tech way would be to close-loop the system and measure the heat gain (temperature) during a sun cycle

Answer 3

assuming you are using radiant or base board heating with solar water collectors. There is a way to calculate the BTUs in a room, but it's very complicated.

To make it easier, check your heating bills to similar homes and get the ratio. This isn't the same as calculating the actual efficiency, but it gives you a practical estimate.

If you need more info, try going to Heliodyne's site. (www.heliodyne.com???)