We work on as many different systems as were made from the late 1970's till present. The tax credits of the energy crisis of the late 70s, early 80s created a surge in solar thermal systems. These systems were done by a lot of different companies in a variety ways. The 2 types of fluid systems are closed loop (which use glycol, bray oil or silicone oil) and open loop (which use glycol or water) as the solar fluid. These fluids absorb heat from the sun through panels mounted outside. These fluid panels are usually flat plates, but sometimes evacuated tubes or plastic pool panels. The heat exchangers and storage systems inside the house are as varied as the process used to collect and transfer the heat. Occasionally, air is circulated through panels to heat a storage mass or the inside air directly. Here's a look a some of the more common systems used to create hot water and hot air from the sun.

Flat plate panels are the original way to heat water with the sun. These plates are normally housed inside an insulated aluminium box with tempered glass. The usual design consists of large pipes as a header at the bottom and top of a panel and a number of smaller pipes or risers connnecting them. These risers are then connected to flat plates of metal used to capture the sun's rays. The fluid moves through these headers, then risers as the sun beats on the plates. The plates heat up and the fluid takes the heat out and moves through copper plumbing to the storage tank or heat exchanger, usually in the basement.

Evacuated tubes are a modern version of the flat plate panel for a thermal system. They capture the energy from the sun's rays through a copper tube inside a glass vaccum cylinder. The heat is transfered to solar fluid passing through a manifold at the top of the tubes. Their main advantage is catching maximum sun from all angles, or times of day.

Pool panels are a simple way to keep your swimming pool warm in cooler days. They are the quickest return on your money of all renewable energies. These panels are mounted on your roof or rack in the yard. The pool water that your pump circulates through the filter and heater is diverted through these black plastic panels. As the water passes through this network of black tubes, the heat is taken out of them and put into the passing water that returns to the pool hotter than it left. These systems can be set up to run automatically when the panels are hot enough, or bypass valves can be set up to run the system manually without buying fancy controls. Make your pool season last longer with these less costly simple durable panels.

Hot air systems basically take cool air from part of your house, heat it up in a panel, and put the warmed air back inside. The air passes through a sealed panel around heat plates that are exposed to the sun. The passing air picks up the heat off the plates and delivers it to where the outgoing duct is placed. These are a simple way to heat up your house in the daytime. The circulation is controlled by a thermostat connected to a small fan or blower. During the day the cold air in your house is then slowly heated up by a small amount of electricity used to run the fan. These systems were originally marketed towards business's and people who are home all day and can take advantage of heating up a space during the day.

Storage tanks come in all shapes, sizes and materials. They basically store heat as water to be used on demand, especially when the sun is not shinning. Some large ones had to built on site and use a lot of space.


This 720 gallon tank has insulated wall and a rubber bladder. It can be made custom to fit specific locations and capacity.


This insulated square tank can hold about 600 gallons of 180F water. The insulation is to help keep the heat in. If these tanks aren't made well, the heat will distort them over time.


Many companies made storage tanks that are round and similar to hot water heaters.


This heat exchanger inside a plastic square tank is the heart of the system. The fluid around the coil heats up fluid moving through it.


This tank contains the older style fin coils and newer smooth surface coils.


Modules consist of pumps, heat exchangers and controlls for moving fluids and transfering heat. They are a way to organize solar components and save space, usually in mechanical rooms.


This novan module has 2 heat exchangers, one for hot water, one for a spa.


This is a modern package system by Enerworks. It includes a solar tank with an internal heat exchanger, controller, and pumps meant for a small space.


Space heaters are used on many systems to convert hot water to hot air for heating an area of a house

The brands we commonly work with include:
Novan, Sun Catcher, Solaron, Grumman, Sunland, Sunspool, First American Solar, Mourning Star, enerWorks, Solar King, Sunbelt, Western Solar products, U.S. Solar Corp, Independent Energy, Sun Systems, Alternative Energy Technologies, Hot Water Systems, Solar Horizons, Mcquay, Myson, C100, C120, Cornerstone, Stiebel Eltron, Delta t, DLP-20, C30, CM30, Goldline, Heliotrope, Steca, Eagle, Resol, Lighthouse, and Heliocol.