How does the Solarsheats work? What does it do? It's an air heater that mounts on the outside of a south facing wall or roof. The sun heats up a SolarSheat air collector like the sun warms your car on a sunny day. Imagine capturing that hot air and dumping it into your home during the fall, winter, and spring heating season.
What is the difference between the SolarSheat 1500G and 1500GS? Both Solarsheat air collectors use inside air and heats it up to higher temperatures, and dumps it back into the house. The 1500G uses a self-powered fan, which is built into it with a solar electric panel. It's designed to be installed very quickly. It can be installed in 1 hour on a south facing wall. The 1500GS is considered a "secondary" solar collector, with no moving parts. It was designed to add power to a 1500G (2-panel system) or to be connected to other 1500GS's.
Does the SolarSheat have storage capability for nighttime use? No, the SolarSheat only works during the sunny day time hours.
Aren't liquid solar collectors better? They are about 10-20% more efficient, but liquid solar thermal collector (flat plate, evacuated, etc.) systems are much more expensive. A SolarSheat is an excellent low cost alternative and can be installed by a handy homeowner. No leaks, no worrying about glycol ratios, anti-freeze pH balance, rust inhibitors, stagnation damage to antifreeze, power outages, overheating solar storage tanks during vacation time, or steam filled basements, heat exchanger or collector calcification (non-anti-freeze systems). Check out our SolarSheats. It just doesn't get any simpler, more reliable or less expensive with any other solar heating system.
What's the best collector tilt angle? The best solar collector tilt angle (from horizontal) for space heating is equal to your location's latitude + 15 degrees. However collector tilts equal to your latitude to 90 degrees (wall mount) is generally acceptable. When there is snow is often on the ground in front of the collector to reflect sunlight onto the collect, then mounting on a wall (90) is especially great. Wall mounting collectors is generally the least expensive, especially for adjacent, direct room heating, but is the most susceptible to shading. For roof mounts, to shed snow, we recommend an angle no less than 40-45 degrees (aka. 10:12 to 12:12 pitch), no matter what your latitude is .
There are two different panels: 1) 1500G (Includes a DC fan powered by a built-in solar PV panel) 2) 1500GS (No fan or PV panel, collector only)
A 1-panel system only comes with the 1500G which includes a built-in solar PV powered circulating fan. The 2-Panel system comes with both panels (one of each). The 1500GS is simply a solar collector and does not include a built in fan, but used in conjuction with the 1500G allows more solar collector space - which in turn means more heating.
If you are mounting these panels into your wall or onto a Cathedral-style roof (no attic space between the roof and the interior room), the collector(s) are all that you will need. Just order the Wall system and you should be fine. The solar PV powered fan built into the 1500G will power the built in fan to circulate the air.
However, if you are mounting the panels to a roof where you will have to vent through attic space, be sure to order one of the "roof" systems. These will include an additional fan as well as some other accesories (listed below) that you will need to move the air through that extra space. You may choose between an AC or PV powered attic fan. If you choose the AC powered version, you will get a fan that you can plug into any standard outlet in your attic. If you order the PV version, you will get a fan as well as an additional solar PV panel to mount on your roof. This additional panel will power the attic fan.
Most people just flush mount the panel(s) to either thier South-facing roof or wall. However - if tilt racking is needed, we offer that option as well. Select from either 30°, 45° or 60° degree tilts. Optimal tilting is your Latitude +15°. However, 90° (on your wall) is acceptable. In fact, when it snows, you will get a good amount of reflection heat from the snow if it is mounted on the wall.
NOTE: Engineering for wind or weight loading may be required.
Ontario, the Canadian province between the Great Lakes and the Hudson Bay, isn’t known for its sunshine. Nevertheless, when Todd Kirkpatrick, owner of the horse farm Kerrydale Stables, got an exorbitant winter heating bill in 2003, he thought there must be a brighter alternative. Kirkpatrick created a solar air collector designed for space heating — the SolarSheat. Meanwhile, back at the barn, Kerrydale Stables installed a system that went live in December 2003 and immediately proved to be worth the investment. At present, Kerrydale saves approximately 40 percent on its annual heating bill and estimates a five-year return on investment for the system. “The SolarSheat is for long-time solar consumers who want to add onto their existing solar systems with a space heating application, or for the first-time buyer of solar energy products,” Kirkpatrick says. “SolarSheat’s beauty is that it is affordable and simple to understand and install.”
And perhaps the best part is that it can be used in any climate. “It was developed in Northern Ontario, Canada,” he says. “And our solar climate is not nearly as good as in Colorado or the southern United States.”
