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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

100% freeze protection for thermosiphon solar water heaters

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6393232
Solar collectors must be prevented from suffering damage from freezing to become accepted in almost all of the United States. Use of heat exchangers and non-aqueous fluids present serious cost, performance and safety considerations. Development of and inherently freeze protected solar collector to be used in a thermosyphon system is critical for solar energy to become a significant source of energy for residential thermal needs. This project investigates a technique of accomplishing this end by the use of a compliant member inside the tubing of the solar collector and associated supply and return piping. The compliant element is a length of plastic tubing selected for its suitable physical properties for use in a solar collector. The tubing was prepressurized and the tubing then sealed a fixed intervals to provide a safety factor in case there is a failure or leak in the tubing. This report presents the methods used to test the ideas and the results of the construction and testing of a full scale system utilizing this concept.
Research Organization:
Leonaitius (Lance), Atlanta, GA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
FG44-81R410454
OSTI ID:
6393232
Report Number(s):
DOE/R4/10454-T1; ON: DE85001351
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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