@skywatch said in Solar/battery powering:
@zboblamont said in Solar/battery powering:
@rejoe2 Anti-freeze.
But then the hot water would not be suitable to shower/cleaning/pool etc and you then have to go to a heat exchange tank, somewhere to put it and insulate it and pipe to it. I am sure is can be done, but the fact that it is not 'standard' hints at it being costlly or impractical or both.
In fact, imo it's highly recommended to use a seperate circle for the "transport medium" (typically: antifreeze liquid)! Otherwise you will at some point in time get problems with corrosion or deposited dirt particles if media would be continuously renewed. Dependent on the needed amounts of (potable) warm water, it might even be a good idea to have three circles (medium for panel, heating water, potable water). But tanks, heat exchangers and so on (including steering electronics ) are (relatively inexpensive) standard components - at least here in Germany. So imo technical complexity isn't a thing to worry about too much. But as already mentionned: I really doubt, if you will have a financial benefit out of such an installation, if you have to built it from scratch nowerdays. Additionally: have a close look, how big the need for hot water really is - in most cases, e.g. 5m² panel size for a family of 4 persons should be enough for hot water supply in middle Europe (+300l tank volume). As soon as heating is involved, you'll need much higher tank volumes - with no benefit in summer, but not sufficient capacity on roof top or tank volume in winter times?
@rejoe2 Agreed! - But it's not OT as you could mysensors the hell out of such an installation!
Indeed, buiding one's own MySensors-based controller for such a hybrid heating ecosystem would be right on topic - but not in this thread here...
Fyi:
One of my very first things to get done with MySensors had been around my (gas based) central heating system;
we have some tubes installed that would allow medium transport from roof to cellar. But to be honest, atm. I'm not willing to invest in tanks etc.; it's just not cost efficient, even if I would do a lot of the installation work myself....
