Kit for solar water heating system

Abstract

Solar water heating systems that are formed as all-in-one kits that include all the components necessary for assembling the solar water heating systems at a chosen site is disclosed. Depending on the desired system, the kit may for example include a solar collector, one or more supplemental storage tanks, pumps, heat exchangers, valves, fittings, piping, timers, insulation, flashings, hose bibs, supports, brackets, fasteners, sealants and/or the like. In fact, the kit may further include all or some of the necessary tools required to assemble the solar water heating system.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60 / 787,448, filed Mar. 29, 2006, and 60 / 899,698, filed Feb. 5, 2007, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates generally to improvements of solar water heating systems. In one aspect, the present invention relates to solar water heating systems formed as a kit. In another aspect, an improved tank adapter is described.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Solar heater systems are designed to capture heat from the sun and to store the solar heat until the heat is needed. In solar water heaters, the heat is ultimately transferred to water. Solar water heaters, which typically include a collector and storage tank, come in various forms including both active and passive systems.[0006]In active systems, the collector is typically a flat plate collector,...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]In one aspect, the invention relates generally to solar water heating kits that are packaged in a single box that may be readily shipped using ordinary package carriers (e.g., UPS, Fed Ex, DHL, etc.). Generally, the kit is intended to include components that are necessary to form a solar water heating system. The components of the kit will vary based on the nature of the solar water heating system that is to be built. In some implementations, the kit includes at least one flexible solar collector panel, an interface module that includes a heat exchanger, and a piping system for coupling the solar panel to the interface module, and for coupling the interface module to a storage tank that is not part of the kit. The size of the collector panels and the amount of piping that are included may be widely varied in accordance with the needs of a particular design. Typically, the kit would include at least 20 square feet of usable collector surface area and at least 40 feet of flexible tubing, although larger collector areas are generally preferred.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, systems such as these suffer from several drawbacks.

For one, most systems are bulky devices formed from large, awkward and heavy parts and therefore they are difficult to manage and install.

Furthermore, because these systems are large and heavy, the costs of shipping these products are exorbitantly high.

In fact, in some cases, the cost of shipping may be higher than the cost of the product itself.

Another drawback with these systems is that they tend not to be aesthetically pleasing.

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