1. Conduction
when two objects come into contact, heat transfers between the two surfaces. This is based on the type of materials and contact surface area. copper is without question, the fastest heat conducting material. These solar water heaters use copper tubing to transmit heat from the tubes to the water manifold, which is then collected by the water and then pumped to your water tank.

2. Convection
Convective heat transfer is caused by the flow of a fluid over an object. there is convection caused when the water is pumped through the solar collectors, enabling fast heat transfer and low pumping time. what about the wind blowing over the solar collector? No worry. These are vacuum tubes. The convection must occur directly on the object to cause heat transfer. Wind cannot take any heat out of the system since the vacuum tubes have a void between the copper tubing and the outside glass.

3. Radiation
Radiation occurs all the time with any object. Heat can travel through space through radiation. There's no stopping it. The good news is that the radiation coming out of the solar collectors is extremely minimal, and the radiation coming in from the sun is extremely high due to the black shading of the vacuum tubes and aluminum inserts.

This is the highest of quality solar collector you can get. Copper, aluminum, vacuum tubes. The absorption efficiency is about 95%.

How exactly does it work?
Radiation from the sun beams through the outer glass tubes of the solar collectors. The sunlight then gets trapped into the inner glass tube, which is dark to attract the light and on the inside has a copper lining to collect the heat.

Light which reflects off the dark portion is also trapped. Sunlight easily passes through the clear glass, but as soon as it bounces off of something that isn't clear, it turns into infrared energy / heat. This heat is also trapped into the tubes since heat cannot easily pass through the vacuum (no conduction or convection), and is forced to conduct into the copper tubes in the center.

Mounting Frame	Heat Pipe

Tube & inner copper tube / condenser	Tube with aluminum inserts	Bottom of tube

The heat then collects into the center copper tube with help from aluminum inserts. The heat travels up the copper tube and into the manifold through the end bulb (known as the condenser) at the top. This copper tube has water inside of it which helps transfer the heat through evaporation/condensing. Don't worry, this water is under pressure and will not freeze! The heat pipe, which is made of aluminum and is within the manifold is heated by the condenser. Water passes through this manifold, and through the heat pipe. Heat then transfers to the water through conduction and convection. There is very little heat loss since the manifold is insulated well with polyurethane foam and the glass tube is secured against the manifold with a gasket.

Generally, these solar collectors are used in a closed system. They can be used year-round if a water/antifreeze mixture is used. To heat your potable water, you just simply need to run the hot fluid from the solar collectors through a heat exchanger to your water tank, or a special water tank which has a heat exchanger built into it. This is the most efficient way to acquire free, efficient heat.

This is a more efficient system than the more crude systems which actually fill the tubes with water. Not filling the tubes with water also allows for breakage allowance. If one tube were to break, the rest of the system can still operate without the tube until it is replaced.

These solar tubes are made to last. they usually last an easy 10 to 20 years and pay for themselves within 2 years, depending on the cost of your water heating and even building heating needs.

Advantages of the Separated Solar Heater System

Separated systems prevent freezing by containing no water in the tubes. The system uses an efficient copper heat pipe technology to transfer heat from the tubes to the fluid source. A glycol mixture can be used to allow use through all seasons without freezing problems.

Since the system is automated, there's no need to worry about whether you water will be hot. The solar heater will heat your hot water supply and if there isn't enough sun for a few days or you take way too many hot showers, your normal backup heating (electric or gas) can keep your water hot for you.

Stagnation temperature is about 200°C. This is the absolute maximum temperature you can expect the solar heater to reach in case of pump failure and the system stops working. Reaching this temperature will not damage the system.

What's included in this listing?

Solar Water Collector Manifold

SUS304-2B Stainless Steel with Aluminum Allow
This is the manifold in which solar tubes connect into. Manifold has a 1/2" Male NPT inlet/outlet for fluid flow. Material is aluminum with polyurethane insulation.

30 solar Vacuum tubes
Solar vacuum tubes include the vacuum tube made of glass, heat collector, copper tubing for transferring heat to the manifold, and aluminum sheets to aid in heat transfer within the tubes.

Extra "Spare" Tubes

Although we package our solar heaters so that the tubes will not break during shipment, sometimes a tube or 2 finds a way to shatter while in transit. We provide extra tubes as insurance so that you don't need to wait to get replacement tubes in case of breakage. Any extra tubes which make it to you without breaking are yours to keep as spares incase of any mishaps in your installation.

Advanced Mounting Frame
The mounting frame can be used on an angled roof or it can also be used as a stand for flat roof or ground installations, still maintaining the appropriate angle towards the sun.

For pictures on how the frame is constructed, see our construction of the mounting frame page.

Connection Accessories

Accesories such as the "feet" which connect the bottoms of the tubes to the mounting gear, nuts and bolts.

Detailed instructions for installation are included.

Sizing for your home

Everyone's usage levels vary and there are different sun outputs depending on where you are in the nation. Sun output is also varying depending on the season as well. However, we have created a table which can give general recommendations for solar water heater sizing based on average usage. If you're in a cold climate or use excess hot water, it is best to take the next size up. Tank sizes are recommended based on heat output. Using a larger tank will allow for more heat collection and a larger supply of water, but the water will generally be colder since the heater has to heat the entire tank before the temperature rises.