Sunstar STR rooftop solar collector heater

[sandcastle]

Hi,
Wondering if there are any other owners of this type of solar heater rooftop system.
I bought a house that had one of these installed already and have been getting to know it.
Last summer was the first summer we lived in the house, and I would run water through it only a few hours a day, and found it had a minimal impact on temperature.
This year, I've been running water through it most of the daylight hours of the day, and I run my pump on low speed once water has made it up to the roof, to give the water a chance to heat up as it slowly moves through the hoses.
Recirculated water is warm to the touch on the returns, but it does seem to take several days to have any effect on the total 10K gallon volume (understandable).
Just wanted to hear any thoughts from other owners on usage, satisfaction, maintenance.
We also live under a giant oak tree which sheds a lot of leaves that work their way under the solar heater. A roofer advised me this will lead to premature degradation of the roof. Since we have asphalt roof tiles, cleaning under the heater is challenging at best (they break easily). Is anyone in a similar situation, and how are you dealing with that?
Thanks.

 

[mas985]

Hi,
Wondering if there are any other owners of this type of solar heater rooftop system.
I bought a house that had one of these installed already and have been getting to know it.
Last summer was the first summer we lived in the house, and I would run water through it only a few hours a day, and found it had a minimal impact on temperature.

The longer you run the solar, the more heat is added to the pool. It also will make a difference when you are running solar. For most systems, around solar noon will generate the most heat. But to get maximum heat, the system should be run the entire time the panels have sun on them.

This year, I've been running water through it most of the daylight hours of the day, and I run my pump on low speed once water has made it up to the roof, to give the water a chance to heat up as it slowly moves through the hoses.

Heat transfer increases with flow rate not the other way around. The slower the water, the hotter the water gets but the more heat is lost to the environment. Heat transfer is related to both water temperature AND flow rate. It is actually the product of the two. When you halve the flow rate, the water temperature in the panel doubles and because of this, heat loss goes up by about 10%.

 

[prousseau]

Hi,
Wondering if there are any other owners of this type of solar heater rooftop system.
I bought a house that had one of these installed already and have been getting to know it.
Last summer was the first summer we lived in the house, and I would run water through it only a few hours a day, and found it had a minimal impact on temperature.
This year, I've been running water through it most of the daylight hours of the day, and I run my pump on low speed once water has made it up to the roof, to give the water a chance to heat up as it slowly moves through the hoses.
Recirculated water is warm to the touch on the returns, but it does seem to take several days to have any effect on the total 10K gallon volume (understandable).
Just wanted to hear any thoughts from other owners on usage, satisfaction, maintenance.
We also live under a giant oak tree which sheds a lot of leaves that work their way under the solar heater. A roofer advised me this will lead to premature degradation of the roof. Since we have asphalt roof tiles, cleaning under the heater is challenging at best (they break easily). Is anyone in a similar situation, and how are you dealing with that?
Thanks.

Depends on many factors but after almost 25 years, I just refreshed my system with a h2otsun rooftop and I saw 12 deg rise in 2 days (total pump time 5.5 hours/day, full disclosure, it happened to be 2 warm days). I've now reduced my pump time because don't need that much more temperature rise. Depends on surface area, exposure, flow and efficiency of your system.