Types of Solar Water Heating Systems

Solar water heating systems (SWHS) can be either active or passive. An active system uses an electric pump to circulate the fluid through the collector; a passive system has no pump and relies on thermo-siphoning to circulate water.

The amount of hot water a solar water heater produces depends on the type and size of the system, the amount of sun available at the site, installation angle and orientation. SWHS are also characterized as open loop (also called "direct") or closed loop (also called "indirect").

An open-loop system circulates household (potable) water through the collector. A closed-loop system uses a heat-transfer fluid (water or diluted antifreeze) to collect heat and a heat exchanger to transfer the heat to the household water. The efficiency is reduced for this type of system due to temperature drop through the heat exchange process.