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Case

Solar thermal energy

Solar system an efficient supplement to boiler heating

2. December 2010

Solution provider

Grundfos

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Solar energy is an ideal cost-saving supplement to a conventional hot water and heating system. But the challenge is to get the two systems to work seamlessly together to get the most out of the sun - even on the cloudy days.

Wisconsin-based Hot Water Products was asked to incorporate such a system for heating and domestic hot water at a local nursing home.

A Wisconsin nursing home asked heat transfer products distributor, Hot Water Products, to renovate the facility’s boiler-based heating and domestic hot water system. Care center management wanted to consider solar heating in order to shield the center from increases in energy costs and to help the center gain energy independence.

Technical specifications

The first step was to find an energy-efficient pump that could operate cohesively with a solar hot water system designed for 1.8 g/min. with a 12° F differential temperature.

The top choice of pump was the Grundfos TPE in-line circulator. Integrated variable frequency drive (VFD) and differential temperature sensors mean that the pump can automatically regulate flow according to the weather conditions. The system’s heat exchanger can then maximize the availability of solar energy.

Since the TPE continuously matches flow to the sun’s intensity, the plate heat exchanger operates at optimum efficiency no matter how much or how little the sun shines.

For Hot Water Products, installation was “plug-and-pump” as all the sensors and the controller are integrated into the Grundfos TPE.