Solar water heaters are becoming more and more popular among home owners. Harnessing the power of the sun to give you hot water is a great way to reduce your utility bills and also a great way to reduce the footprint that you leave on the earth. While solar water heaters are not the most popular water heaters on the market right now, they are gaining popularity very quickly.
Performing maintenance to your solar water heater is actually very similar to performing maintenance on any other type of water heater. The biggest difference is that you will also perform maintenance to the power supply of your solar water heater, where you would not perform maintenance to the gas lines to your gas water heater.
Starting with the solar equipment is actually a great place to start your solar water heater maintenance. First you need to make sure that your solar panels are not being blocked by shade. You should check this in the morning, noon and afternoon before the sun goes down. If the solar panels are being blocked by shade anytime during the day it is suggested that you move them to where they can be in the sun all day.
Also, you need to make sure that the solar panels are clean and free from dust and dirt. The solar panels may also get leaves or other debris from the wind blowing on them. Making sure that they are clean and clear from debris will guarantee that they are performing the best that they can.
Next, you should inspect the plumbing and wiring connections. If you find any loose wires, unless you know what you are doing, you should contact a local electrician to come and fix it. If you know what you are doing, then you can perform the needed maintenance to the wiring. Make sure that none of the water fixtures are leaking and if they are you can try and tighten them.
You should always follow the owner’s manual when doing solar water heater maintenance and if you do not feel comfortable doing the maintenance yourself then you should hire a professional to do the solar water heater maintenance for you. If you do hire a professional to do the service for you it is suggested that you should follow them and see exactly what they are doing so you can perform the maintenance yourself. Ask them any questions that you may have.
If you do feel comfortable enough to do the maintenance yourself, then you should make sure and follow the safety precautions within your owner’s manual. To perform the tank maintenance you will first shut off the power supply to the tank. You will then hook up a drain hose and drain the tank. Make sure that the open end of the hose is in an area that will not be harmed by hot water.
After you have drained the tank it is important that you run water through the tank to clear out any debris or sediment that is left inside the tank. When the water runs clear out of the drain hose you will know that the tank is clean. You can then take the drain hose off of the tank and turn the feed line back on. After the tank is filled back up with water, you can then turn the power supply back on to the solar water heater.
Solar water heater maintenance is a necessity to keep your solar water heater working correctly. If you do solar water heater maintenance and keep your water heater running well it will last you a very long time and save you a lot of money in utility bills. It is said in the near future many more people will be changing their water heating sources to solar power.
