GBA Logo horizontal Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram YouTube Icon Navigation Search Icon Main Search Icon Video Play Icon Plus Icon Minus Icon Picture icon Hamburger Icon Close Icon Sorted

Community and Q&A

Solar home heat @ tankless water heater

Qp9PrZJtz6 | Posted in General Questions on

Can you have both heat and water run from the same solar system or do you need a seperate one

GBA Prime

Join the leading community of building science experts

Become a GBA Prime member and get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.

Replies

  1. Riversong | | #1

    If you have enough sunshine and enough surface for lots of panels, you can get both space heat and domestic hot water from the same system, but the closed heating loop needs to be indirectly heated through an exchanger so it doesn't mix with potable water.

    But it's rare that you can get all your hot water needs from solar thermal in a cold climate and even rarer to have enough capacity to also heat your house. Passive solar is the most cost-effective form of solar space heating.

  2. Andrew Henry | | #2

    Bill,

    John Siegenthaler is the guy to read on radiant/solar...

    A good recent review!

    And his Glitch and Fix series

    That said, and as Robert implied, it is cheaper to insulate well, build tight and orient the house to the sun first. But your situation may not apply!

    Cheers,

    Andrew

Log in or create an account to post an answer.

Community

Recent Questions and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |