Solar heating for shop in eastern Idaho.
We recently finished an upgrade project in Eastern Idaho adding 2 additional solar thermal panels to an existing installation. The upgrade project included moving the one of the existing panels closer together and updating the piping connection. The system was not performing as the owner had hopped due to a few reasons.
When the contractor installed the radiant floor for the shop no insulation was installed under the floor. RENW recommends installing 4″ of insulation under the floor to ensure the heating goes into the building instead of trying to heat the ground. The solar controller was also not programmed for optimal collection and disbursement of the suns radiation. The system is also using glycol as the heat transfer. 50/50 glycol and water solution collects 30% less energy than 100% water system.
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