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Concept
Solar water heating
Summary
Solar water heating (SWH) is heating water by sunlight, using a solar thermal collector. A variety of configurations are available at varying cost to provide solutions in different climates and latitudes. SWHs are widely used for residential and some industrial applications (For example: in Israel).
A Sun-facing collector heats a working fluid that passes into a storage system for later use. SWH are active (pumped) and passive (convection-driven). They use water only, or both water and a working fluid. They are heated directly or via light-concentrating mirrors. They operate independently or as hybrids with electric or gas heaters. In large-scale installations, mirrors may concentrate sunlight into a smaller collector.
As of 2017, global solar hot water (SHW) thermal capacity is 472 GW and the market is dominated by China, the United States and Turkey. Barbados, Austria, Cyprus, Israel and Greece are the leading countries by capacity per person.
Records of solar collectors in the United States date to before 1900, involving a black-painted tank mounted on a roof. In 1896 Clarence Kemp of Baltimore enclosed a tank in a wooden box, thus creating the first 'batch water heater' as they are known today. Frank Shuman built the world's first solar thermal power station in Maadi, Egypt, using parabolic troughs to power a engine that pumped of water per minute from the Nile River to adjacent cotton fields.
Flat-plate collectors for solar water heating were used in Florida and Southern California in the 1920s. Interest grew in North America after 1960, but especially after the 1973 oil crisis.
Solar power is in use in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Portugal, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Solar power in IsraelSolar power in Italy and Solar power in Spain
Israel, Cyprus and Greece are the per capita leaders in the use of solar water heating systems supporting 30%–40% of homes.
Flat plate solar systems were perfected and used on a large scale in Israel.
Official source
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