Apricus Solar Hot Water Systems

A NEW ERA IN SOLAR HOT WATER
Apricus Solar Co. Ltd is an Australian-Chinese joint venture company which designs, manufactures and exports high quality solar water heaters (solar collectors) using evacuated tube and heat pipe technology, solar controllers and a wide range of accessories for solar thermal installations.

Apricus products are designed for use in both domestic and commercial applications providing hot water, space heating and even air-conditioning (cooling).

Apricus's solar range of renewable energy products are sold under the Apricus trademark and exported worldwide through a network of official distributors and dealers.

Products are designed and manufactured to meet international product quality and engineering standards, and have a strong emphasis on simplistic design and ease of installation and use.

Apricus Evacuated Tube Solar Collector (Thermal solar heating)

The Apricus Solar Collector or Solar Water Heater is a device that absorbs thermal energy from the sun and converts it into usable heat. The heat is normally absorbed by water, or a freeze resistant water mix, which can then be used to supplement hot water heating, space heating and even space cooling via use of an absorption chiller or dessicant cooler technology.

Key features of the Apricus Solar Collector design:

• Internationally certified product

• Reliable, efficient, twin-glass evacuated tubes

• Copper heat pipes for rapid heat transfer

• Easy plug-in installation

• Maintenance Free

• Suitable for mains pressure water (up to 8 bar/116psi)

• Corrosion resistant silver brazed copper header

• All stainless steel frame (439 grade SS)

• Black or Silver aluminum casing

• Stable solar conversion throughout the day (tubes passively track the sun)

• The perfect solar collector for domestic solar water heater systems

• Ideal for commercial solar water heating applications

• Comprehensive 10 year limited warranty

Get the Apricus 'Advantage' with your hot water supply.

The truth about the 5 Myths about solar hot water systems.

The operation of the solar collector is very simple:

1. Solar Absorption: Solar radiation is absorbed by the evacuated tubes and converted into heat.

2. Solar Heat Transfer: Heat pipes conduct the heat from within the solar tube up to the header.

3. Solar Energy Storage: Water is circulated through the header, via intermittent pump cycling. Each time the water circulates through the header the temperatures is raised by 5-10°C / 9-18°F. Throughout the day, the water in the storage tank is gradually heated.

The Apricus solar collector does not have a built-in tank, in fact the manifold of the 20 tube solar collector only contains about 510ml/1pint of water. A circulation pump is required to circulate the water through the manifold and back to the solar storage tank. A flow rate of only 2L/min is required for most domestic installations, and therefore a low wattage pump is sufficient. Larger pumps are only necessary when several solar collectors are connected in series, or when the pump is required to overcome head pressure. The pressure drop at low flow rates is very minimal, only 700 Pa @ 3.3L/min for 20 tube manifold, and so is not a major consideration when sizing pumps.

The advantage of solar tubes is that they insulate the inner tube from heat loss. This means that once heat is absorbed, it is transferred to the water in the manifold, and not lost to the outside environment. This is the key difference between solar tubes and flat plate solar collectors: the insulation properties. Combined with the heat transfer efficiency of the heat pipe, the Apricus solar collector can deliver excellent heat output all year round. The IAM (Incidence Angle Modifier) values of the Apricus are also very different to solar collectors with flat absorbers. The positive (>1) IAM values mean that the solar collector actually performs best mid morning and mid afternoon, resulting in a more stable heat output throughout the day.

When installing a solar collector on your roof, how it looks is certainly important. The Apricus solar collector is designed to be low profile, sitting close to the surface of the roof. The tubes are black and so blend in nicely with most roof colours. The manifold is available in black, dark brown, or silver powder coated aluminum, and with either rear (R) or end (E) port models. The rear port manifold allows the plumbing to be hidden behind the solar collector manifold. In addition by using rear ports, two or more solar collectors may be connected side by side without a gap in between. End ports may be preferred for large scale applications for ease of connection in series, and reduction of pressure drop through the piping.

Apricus solar collectors are ideal for large scale solar water heating applications, able to be used in hotels, airports, apartment buildings or anywhere where hot water or heating is required. The economics of large scale applications are generally more favorable than domestic, as instead of having a pump and tank for every one or two solar collectors, a single tank and pump can be used for 50 solar collectors. Apricus solar collectors can accept mains pressure, are corrosion resistant and can be installed in series and/or parallel, thus are suited to a wide range of large and small scale applications.

The cost involved in repairing a household appliance is increasing all the time, not due so much to spare part costs, but rather the labour cost involved in having a technician visit. With this in mind the Apricus solar collector is designed to be maintenance free, but if for some reason a solar tube should ever be damaged, it can be replaced quickly and easily by any person possessing basic trade skills.

For more information download the Apricus brochure (PDF)

Solar Power Indonesia can supply a full range of the Apricus Solar products for both domestic and commercial installations. For more information contact us or call at our showroom.