Jan 22, 2014 08:25 AM
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We decided to install a solar water heater. One thing I noticed at that time at a friends place was the high quality of materials used in the construction of V-Guard solar water heater.
Another neighbor was complaining about the plastic outer shell of his cheap non V-Guard solar water heater developing cracks in the intense sun. Rain water went into this cracks and that resulted in the insulation socking in water and heat loss in the monsoon when hot water is more needed. So, we decided to install a tank with metal outer shell. V-Guard was chosen because it is local, from a highly respected ethical business group in Kerala.
Because of the odd construction of our house we had to run long pipes (50m) from the existing water tank to the water heater. The technicians recommended using higher diameter outlet pipes which we rejected for two reasons.
Although the pipe is thick and insulated there is no perfect insulator in the world. The hot water within the pipes gets cold over time. When you open the taps you need to drain all this cold water before getting hot water. This wastes lot of water especially when the piping is long. And larger pipes are costlier too. Using smaller dia pipes avoided this problem. This has a side effect. If there are more taps connected to this line and when multiple taps are opened at the same time the flow is reduced. May be that is the reason the technicians recommended larger pipes. Anyway, for us the chances of opening kitchen tap and shower at the same is time is very rare. Even if it happens, it does not last more than 30 seconds.
We are happy with the installation in its 5th year now. Not once we had any problem. The only maintenance we do is cleaning up the glass tubes in a few months to remove dirt and algae, especially during rainy season. We did not have to contact service. So I do not know how they are. With my other friend, it is more than 10 year now. No problems yet. So, I hope we may not have to worry next 5 years or more.
The advantages of having a solar water heater and plenty of free hot water is more than just a hot shower. Very hot water taken from the WH reduced our LPG use. Hot water is used in washing up greasy utensils which makes it easier. Hot water is mixed with cold water and connected to our washing machine.
We just have to adjust the mixer tap to get an approximate temperature. That saved significantly in hot wash which we were avoiding earlier due to power consumption. Normally washing machines require only 500W to run. But the hot wash requires 2.5 kW or more. The hot water shower head directed into the toilet should be a good disinfectant. Anyway it keeps the bowl clean. We use hot water to mop the floor. Does it clean better? I don't know, but we do use hot water. :-)
We are now going install a dish washer with hot water inlet. It would have been great if mashing machines and dish washers came with two water inlets, one for hot water and one for cold. The machine should be able to mix it to the right temperature saving electricity if low cost or free hot water is available.
