BigPatents India

This invention involves an apparatus for heating of a liquid, using solar energy, and storage of the heated liquid. In this novel design the entry of the cold liquid in the hot liquid storage tank is prevented, without the use of a pump. This is done by the use of a thermally responsive valve, meaning a valve which operates at a certain temperature. The construction is such that the system operates like a thermosyphon system after the hot liquid tank is full. This is important to prevent excessive scaling in the collector. Due to this design, the temperature of the hot liquid in the solar heater, being delivered for use, remains constant inspite of the consumption of the hot liquid during varied periods of time. By virtue of this invention, the liquid can be heated just to the temperature required for use, instead of the conventional method of heating the liquid to a higher temperature in a thermosyphon system so that it will remain suitable for use even after cold liquid mixes into it, when the use starts. This heating to comparatively lower temperature for the same application increases the efficiency of the solar heater. Also the useful capacity of the solar heater is enhanced as more liquid above the temperature setpoint can be delivered, using the same collector area and tank size, in comparison with the conventional thermosyphon system. The advantage of this system when compared to the forced flow system is that it does not require a pump to pass liquid through the collectors as in a forced flow system as well as the scaling in collectors is lower. (FIG.: NIL) Total Pages: 9.