Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors

Evacuated tube solar collectors provide a highly efficient way to generate domestic hot water and space heating.  They are great for cold weather operation as well as warm.

Evacuated tube solar hot water collectors use a vacuum around heat pipe technology. They contain a copper heat pipe, which is attached to an absorber plate, inside a vacuum sealed solar tube.

Inside the heat pipe is a small quantity of liquid, such as alcohol or purified water plus special additives. The vacuum prevents heat loss from the collector when outside temperatures dip.

When sunlight falls on the surface of the absorber, the liquid in the heat tube quickly turns to hot vapor and rises to the top of the pipe. It then heats a non-toxic glycol solution that flows through the collectors manifold and picks up the heat. The fluid in the heat pipe condenses and flows back down the tube. This process continues, as long as the sun shines.

Evacuated Tube Solar Hot Water Heater in Belfast, Maine

Evacuated tube solar hot water collectors are very efficient.  This is especially important in northern climates like Maine where there may be as little as four productive hours of light during the winter.

Sundog Solar Store recommends and offers Sunda Seido tubes for all of our evacuated tube jobs.  Sunda Seido tubes were developed by a German - Chinese team that included engineers from Daimler-Benz, makers of Mercedes Benz automobiles.  They are designed to be 100% efficient for at least 15 years and are rugged enough to survive well beyond that.

To see evacuated tube solar collectors first hand, come by our store in Searsport.

Check out our high efficiency Solar Hot Water Tank

Return to Solar Hot Water from Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors