A solar water heating system

On a typical single-family residence, there will typically be one or two solar collector panels on the roof.

The panels resemble skylights, and will be about 4 feet wide and 8 to 10 feet long.
Residential solar water heating system
The cold water supply is connected to the solar storage tank. Water to be heated circulates between the storage tank and the solar collectors. The output from the solar storage tank becomes the cold water connection to the conventional gas, electric or oil water heater. When a hot tap is opened, pre-heated water is drawn from storage into the conventional ("auxiliary") water heater. The burner or electric element turns on only if the temperature cannot be maintained by the solar heater. Most properly-designed solar water heaters will supply 70 per cent or more of all the energy needed for water heating.


A Solar Water Heater (SWH) is a device that uses solar energy to heat water. Solar Water Heater have several advantages over conventional water heating systems. For consumers, they save electrical energy, save interior space (because they are usually located on rooftops,)and eliminate the risk of accidents in bathrooms due to electrical water heating equipment, They require little or no care and attention while providing hot water for about 300 days in a year in most parts of India. For society at large, they reduce the need for fossil fuels for electrical generation and for fuels such as firewood, coal, furnace oil, etc, that are used in domestic, commercial and industrial boilers. Thereby, they also reduce degradation of the environment