I am a new member and have been reading many postings on a variety of topics. There are many people who know a bunch about solar heating. I guess I’ll just plunge right in with my situation and see what unfolds.
We (family of 5) live in the northeast region (aka Northeast Kingdom) of Vermont. At present, we heat our house (2800 sq. ft.) with a Central Boiler 5036 outside wood boiler. The hot water from the outside boiler passes through a Brazed Plated Heat Exchanger (13.43 sq. ft. – heat transfer area). We have a Carrier Propane boiler as backup. We do not run our outside boiler from May to late September. We heat our hot water in those months with our Carrier propane boiler. We have a SuperStor (SS-40) Indirect Fired Hot Water Stainless Steel Tank.
What my wife and I are looking for is a way to take advantage of the solar energy that passes over our house everyday during the months the outside boiler is not running. Our house faces west, however, our wood shed faces due south with day-long sun exposure. We estimate that we spend $500-600 in propane a year to heat our hot water during the 4-5 months the outside boiler is down. So what should we do?
Questions:
1. Is it possible to configure a system where the outside boiler and solar collector can work in tandem, thereby reducing the amount of wood burned?
2. Is it possible to tie in a solar collector into the existing heat exchanger used by the outside boiler?
3. Is it possible to have a solar powered pump to move the hot water through the heat exchanger? (if needed)
4. Is it possible to tie in a solar collector into our existing hot water tank without an auxiliary tank?
I may not even be asking the right questions. Any educational input would be greatly appreciated.
We (family of 5) live in the northeast region (aka Northeast Kingdom) of Vermont. At present, we heat our house (2800 sq. ft.) with a Central Boiler 5036 outside wood boiler. The hot water from the outside boiler passes through a Brazed Plated Heat Exchanger (13.43 sq. ft. – heat transfer area). We have a Carrier Propane boiler as backup. We do not run our outside boiler from May to late September. We heat our hot water in those months with our Carrier propane boiler. We have a SuperStor (SS-40) Indirect Fired Hot Water Stainless Steel Tank.
What my wife and I are looking for is a way to take advantage of the solar energy that passes over our house everyday during the months the outside boiler is not running. Our house faces west, however, our wood shed faces due south with day-long sun exposure. We estimate that we spend $500-600 in propane a year to heat our hot water during the 4-5 months the outside boiler is down. So what should we do?
Questions:
1. Is it possible to configure a system where the outside boiler and solar collector can work in tandem, thereby reducing the amount of wood burned?
2. Is it possible to tie in a solar collector into the existing heat exchanger used by the outside boiler?
3. Is it possible to have a solar powered pump to move the hot water through the heat exchanger? (if needed)
4. Is it possible to tie in a solar collector into our existing hot water tank without an auxiliary tank?
I may not even be asking the right questions. Any educational input would be greatly appreciated.