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The most critical component of a solar water heater is the heat exchanger. It greatly effects performance and is the heart of scaling or corrosion in a system. A quality flat plate stainless steel heat exchanger has better thermal transfer than any other heat exchanger available today. In addition, because of its stainless steel composition and turbulent flows, it is considerably less likely than copper to corrode or have scale buildup (which also reduces performance). We are the only solar company in the world to offer a LIFETIME WARRANTY on our system heat exchangers.
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How Does a Flat Plate Heat Exchanger Work?
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These unique heat exchangers are made from stainless steel sheets and stamped with a herringbone pattern of grooves. Identical sheets are stacked in alternating directions, forming separate flow channels for the two liquid streams. The ridges of adjacent plates touch one another in a matrix of contact points. This assembly is then brazed at the contact points and edges to create a rugged, compact, counter-flow heat exchanger.
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After the cold tap water enters port 1) it will travel through every other plate and exit port 4) slightly warmer. The warm collector loop fluid will enter port 2) and travel through every other plate and exit port 3) slightly cooler. This process continues until the pumps are stopped.
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Plate heat exchangers as compared to shell-&-tube exchangers
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- 3 to 5 Times Higher Heat Transfer Efficiency
- Unique Turbulent Flow Minimizes Fouling
- Easy to Dismantle, Inspect and Maintain
- Easy to Transport and Install
- Space Savings of up to 90%
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Performance
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Below is a solar system temperature over time performance chart with the Minimax®. The initial storage tank water temperature is 70 degrees and the collector fluid temperature is 87 degrees. As shown via the graph the temperature difference between the collector loop and storage tank over the course of the day is between 5 to 10 degrees. The overall performance loss is only around 7 to 8%.
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Certification
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