Solar Water Heating, Solar Power or Both?
Both technologies are effective ways of reducing your energy use.
Solar Water Heating
Solar water heating is a very efficient process that captures the heat directly from the sun. Solar collectors are installed on your roof. These use a dark surface to trap the sun’s heat and transfer it to the water or heating fluid circulating inside. This water is stored in an insulated tank or the heat from the heating fluid is transfered to the water in the insulated tank for future use.
Solar Power
In contrast to solar water heating, solar power panels (also called Photovoltaic or PV panels) generate electricity from sunlight. The solar panels produce DC current which is fed through an inverter and converted to 240V electricity to power your home.
The amount of electricity depends on the number of panels and the size of the inverter. Your home remains connected to the power grid and you can feed electricity into the grid or purchase more from the grid if you need to.
Solar Water Heating
Solar water heating is a very efficient process that captures the heat directly from the sun. Solar collectors are installed on your roof. These use a dark surface to trap the sun’s heat and transfer it to the water or heating fluid circulating inside. This water is stored in an insulated tank or the heat from the heating fluid is transfered to the water in the insulated tank for future use.
Solar Power
In contrast to solar water heating, solar power panels (also called Photovoltaic or PV panels) generate electricity from sunlight. The solar panels produce DC current which is fed through an inverter and converted to 240V electricity to power your home.
The amount of electricity depends on the number of panels and the size of the inverter. Your home remains connected to the power grid and you can feed electricity into the grid or purchase more from the grid if you need to.
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