Solahart HS Series
Solahart’s commercial solar water heating range means that we are able to support a project from design stage to occupancy and beyond, in the process serving the needs of architects, developers, builders, selling agents and consumers. We have successfully completed many commercial scale projects, working alongside our clients to share our expertise and to function as an integral part of their team.
The Solahart Commercial Water Heating range of centralised solar thermal solutions is the latest result of our commitment to continuing product improvement and innovation. It has been developed to provide large volumes of low cost hot water that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of hotels, hospitals, apartment buildings, factories, mining villages, caravan parks, etc. where hot water usage requirements exceed 1,000 litres per day.
KEY FEATURES
Solahart Commercial Solar Water Heaters combine our proven solar collectors with a centralised heat store to extract the sun’s free energy and hold it ready for use. Highly efficient heat exchangers transfer the stored energy to the water supply to meet your hot water requirements on demand. A range of booster options ensures a continuous hot water supply regardless of the demand or weather.
This combination of storage and controlled heat transfer allows the system to quickly deliver large volumes of water at a consistent supply temperature. Each system is specifically customised to best meet your requirements and existing infrastructure. The flexibility of the Solahart HS Series ensures it can be connected as a solar pre-heater to immediately reduce the running costs of almost any existing hot water plant with minimal disruption to the installation. Alternatively, the system can be tailored for new building projects or as a complete replacement for old, inefficient water heaters.
How Solar Power (PV) Systems Work
Central Heat Store
The Central Heat Store, contains the heat transfer fluid and acts like a thermal battery storing heat energy from the sun ready for use as required. This fluid is heated by circulation through Solahart’s proven high performance solar collectors during the day and is stored to provide the energy source to instantaneously heat the cold potable water supply in the highly efficient heat exchanger Delivery Skid.
The Solahart HS Series storage tanks offer the perfect combination of performance, long life and flexibility. The tanks are available in 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 litre sizes and can be supplied with 100mm insulation with either a PVC jacket for indoor installations or bonded aluminium cladding suitable for outdoor installation. The tanks are available in carbon steel with 5 bar operating pressure for indirect heating (supplied with corrosion inhibitor) or 316L stainless steel with 8.5 bar operating pressure for potable water applications. Carbon steel tanks are supplied with corrosion inhibitor. Multiple tanks can be interconnected to meet demands exceeding 5000 litres or utilise banks of smaller tanks instead of one larger tank to better utilise available plant room space and provide redundancy.
Solar Pump Skid
The fully engineered Solar Pump Skid controls all solar functions along with the 3 way valves and booster operation. Deluxe models also incorporate BMS run/fail and data logging capability whilst standard models provide a lower cost alternative where data logging is not required. All switch gear is located within an IP55 powder coated enclosure and the frame is fully welded steel construction and hot dip galvanised for superior corrosion resistance.
A pair of Grundfos CME variable speed cast iron pumps are incorporated to provide duty/standby redundancy. The controller regulates the speed of the solar pump to optimise the flow rate through the solar collectors. This helps to optimise system efficiency, reduce energy use, and also reduce possible frequent starting and stopping of the pump.
Heat Exchange Delivery Skid
To precisely regulate the hot water outlet temperature to the building, the Delivery Skid’s intelligent control system varies the rate of energy transfer from the central heat store. This means the fluid in the storage tanks can be stored at a higher temperature than the required potable water temperature allowing for an increase in energy storage density and efficiency. On days when available solar energy input exceeds the hot water demand, surplus energy can be banked for later use rather than wasted.
The Delivery Skid features a pair of completely integrated high-efficiency stainless steel plate heat exchangers. This allows for a high energy transfer with low pressure drop and a low temperature difference between the transfer fluid and the potable water circuits.
The efficiency of the Delivery Skid design makes it ideally suited for solar thermal applications and / or other low-temperature heating systems (a transfer fluid temperature of 50°C is sufficient to heat the fresh water up to 45°C). The Delivery Skid’s are available in sizes with instantaneous output of 200, 400, 600 and 800kW. Multiple units can be manifolded together to provide greater output if required. Any sized Delivery Skid can be paired with any storage tank capacity combination for maximum flexibility and system optimisation.
Drainback for Energy Efficiency and Over Temperature and Frost Protection
To optimise performance, the Solahart Commercial Solar Water Heaters use the proven drain back principle where the heat transfer fluid drains back into the heat store at times when there is insufficient solar gain, or when the fluid is at its maximum set service temperature, to prevent overheating. This also provides protection against freezing.
The system incorporates an automatically controlled pump, which is activated by a smart controller that can be integrated into most building management systems. Drainback is effected by a patented automatic diverter valve which dramatically increases system reliability. Drainback negates the need for heat dissipitation equipment which is typically required for fully flooded solar systems.
Booster Options
A variety of options exist to ensure constant hot water supply at times of low solar radiation or high hot water demand. We can supply and incorporate boosting solutions with electric, gas, or heat pump options, by either boost‑heating the fluid in the central heat store, or boosting the potable water output from the heat exchanger modules to the required service temperature.
Using our highly efficient Heat Pumps as a booster option complements the operating cost savings and environmental benefits of the solar collector system. By combining Heat Pump technology in conjunction with solar collectors (a hybrid solution) some powerful synergies can be gained.
Solahart’s Commercial Heat Pump range is designed with the volume user in mind. Up to 300kW output means almost any demand can be met. Our commercial Heat Pumps typically have a Co-efficient of Performance (COP) of around 4.0*, which means that more than 75% of the energy used to produce hot water is energy free from the sun. Naturally, the hotter the conditions the better the performance.