Don't think solar system is operating as it should

[J.P.M.]

I contacted these folks http://www.sunvelope.com/

Looks like they know what they are doing (but who knows) and they are local to me as well. I got a call back from the actual President of the company and he is coming to my house to check out my system next week.

I will post to what his findings are. I am still going to put in some effort into getting what I have to work.

From their website, they may know something, but I bet they'll be more interested in pushing new equipment. That may be OK, but only if that's what you want. The panels they seem to be pushing/selling are OK, but not top shelf. I'd not be pushed into a hasty decision.

IMO, you'd be money/time/hassle ahead by spending 20 bucks on a solar residential book on thermal systems. Read/study it and you'll probably know more than most peddlers and be better able to make informed choices about renew/updating vs. scrapping what you have, and also get some background/insight into what you've learned here so far.

Also, perhaps contrary to your possible vendor's website info, I'd avoid using "PEX" type piping/fittings. Stay with copper piping/sweated joints. Been around a long time and proven. IMO, "PEX" stuff is inappropriate for most solar thermal applications. Buy cheap, buy twice, or more, especially on piping systems, and particularly insulated piping.

[peakbagger]

I have a set of AET panels that have been running for 10 years, they are well built and show no real evidence that they are 10 years old. As I stated earlier if you do decide to replace seriously consider a couple of PV panels and heat pump hot water heater.

[FED565]

I contacted these folks http://www.sunvelope.com/

Looks like they know what they are doing (but who knows) and they are local to me as well. I got a call back from the actual President of the company and he is coming to my house to check out my system next week.

I will post to what his findings are. I am still going to put in some effort into getting what I have to work.

[J.P.M.]

I'd respectfully suggest making sure that whoever shows up next week knows more about solar thermal in terms of system piping and controls than whoever did the current barnjob.

[FED565]

Yes both sets are setup exactly the same way and there is a single inlet and outlet coming from the room to the water tank so I would assume they are connected in the attic. I need to get up there and really take a look at how they have it setup.

If I were to redo the piping could I run the return line on the outside of the panels as it looks like there is no space inside to do this? I would have it really insulated of course.

I have someone coming over next week to give me an estimate just so I have some idea of what a replacement cost is, but I would like to at least try and get this system going if I can.

I am sure I can get my questions answered here, all of you have been very informative and helpful. Supposed to be nice this weekend so I was going to get back up on the roof and really look at things so I will probably be posting some more pics and questions.

thanks
Scott

[LucMan]

I agree don't buy anything yet. You will be surprized at what you will get out of your panels once they are piped correctly. The way they are piped now you are only getting maybe 20% of what they are capable of producing.
Are the second set of panels piped in series with the first set?

[J.P.M.]

I have been looking online for new panels and it looks like there are few very popular brands. What would any of you suggest as far as good for price and quality? Also, would you suggest buying local or from an online retailer and if so which one?

From turning the solar completely off I have noticed that the boiler is not coming on as much.

thanks again for your help
Scott

Not surprised at lower boiler operating time. The system is in need of a lot of revamp. Don't buy anything until the whole system is checked out.

I don't recommend anything, but I've had Sunearth panels w/selective surface for 6+ yrs. w/ no problems and a high solar fraction.

Add: +1 on LucMan's opinion on staying away from evacuated tube panels.

[Amy@altE]

I have been looking online for new panels and it looks like there are few very popular brands. What would any of you suggest as far as good for price and quality? Also, would you suggest buying local or from an online retailer and if so which one?

thanks again for your help
Scott

AET is great, so is Heliodyne. Heliodyne is in CA, so shipping may be better than AET coming from FL. I'm not sure who is selling them online anymore (we stopped selling SHW last year), you can call either of them and ask if they have a local distributor.

[LucMan]

I have been looking online for new panels and it looks like there are few very popular brands. What would any of you suggest as far as good for price and quality? Also, would you suggest buying local or from an online retailer and if so which one?

From turning the solar completely off I have noticed that the boiler is not coming on as much.

thanks again for your help
Scott

AET & Sunearth flat plate panels.
Stay away from evacuated tube.

[FED565]

I have been looking online for new panels and it looks like there are few very popular brands. What would any of you suggest as far as good for price and quality? Also, would you suggest buying local or from an online retailer and if so which one?

From turning the solar completely off I have noticed that the boiler is not coming on as much.

thanks again for your help
Scott

[FED565]

Yes I believe it is a closed loop system.

[J.P.M.]

Thanks everyone for the replies as they are all very helpful on understanding on what I currently have.

They system has never froze as long as I have had it as it does have antifreeze in the system, when I had the new boiler and water heater installed the plumber refilled the solar part with enough antifreeze for out climate.

My plan now is to turn off the solar portion of my hot water completely by unplugging the pump and I also have a shutoff valve on the inlet and outlet of the system that goes into the water heater. So I will have no flow and can see if my propane bill goes down. I would definitely like to keep the solar portion of my system but it looks like I made need to bite the bullet and get a correctly configured system installed.

If you do that, as a safety precaution, maybe overcautious, cover the panels. They probably won't overheat and the H2O/glycol probably has a relatively high boiling point, but covering the collectors won't hurt.

You didn't mention, or I missed that the collector is a closed loop. Maybe another problem is with the HX portion of the system.

[FED565]

Thanks everyone for the replies as they are all very helpful on understanding on what I currently have.

They system has never froze as long as I have had it as it does have antifreeze in the system, when I had the new boiler and water heater installed the plumber refilled the solar part with enough antifreeze for out climate.

My plan now is to turn off the solar portion of my hot water completely by unplugging the pump and I also have a shutoff valve on the inlet and outlet of the system that goes into the water heater. So I will have no flow and can see if my propane bill goes down. I would definitely like to keep the solar portion of my system but it looks like I made need to bite the bullet and get a correctly configured system installed.

[pleppik]

So the panels I have came on the house when it was built in 2000 and they are starting to look a little worn out. So my thoughts on this was to get some kind of temperature switch that will only pump the solar when it gets to the required temperature. So my question is are my panels still good, can I repaint them black again? Should I get new panels (can you suggest brand/model), do I need to purge my system more? I would like to try some possible fixes before I call a plumber. Any suggestions are appreciated.

One quick experiment you can do to determine for sure if the panels are cooling rather than heating the water: disconnect the circulation pump and see if your energy consumption goes up or down.

[J.P.M.]

I wonder I this system ever froze and if not, what prevented it.