Our Mission: To develop innovative products for solar water heating to reach its potential as a renewable energy source.
The demand for better solar water heating
Solar water heating is one of the lowest cost forms of renewable energy available. It has wide applications, including
- Domestic hot water
- Swimming pools
- Space heating
- Heat for industrial/agricultural processes
- Air conditioning
Until now, the US has lagged behind the rest of the world (see right.) The main barriers to solar water heating in the US have been lack of policy support and the relatively high cost of equipment. Changes are now creating new demand for solar water heating that costs less and saves more energy:
•National security and environmental issues have highlighted the need for renewable energies
•At least 10 states now have renewable portfolio standards that include solar hot water heating.
•California has implemented $350 million in rebates specifically for solar water heating.
How Sisyan’s innovations work
Due to cost, today’s systems are typically designed to only collect and store one day’s load on a clear summer day. However, daily solar energy varies greatly with weather conditions (see right) so they rely on conventional heat for 30-40% of the annual load.
Sisyan's technology makes it economical to
1. Collect surplus energy with innovative collectors and plumbing, without creating overheating issues
2. Store this energy in large, highly insulated, stainless-walled tanks
Example 1
- 24th parallel
-
Open loop
-
3 collectors
-
920 gallons storage
-
R-25 insulation
-
100% solar fraction
Example 2
- 39th parallel
- Open loop
- 3 panels
- 920 gallons storage
- R-50 insulation
- 95% solar fraction anticipated
Example 3 (under construction)
- 45th parallel
- Open loop, domestic hot water and space heating
- Custom double-glazed enclosure with 6 absorbers
- 920 gallons storage
- R-75 insulation
Example 4
Sisyan's greatest opportunity may be for commercial-scale systems due to its unique storage. It intends to build a large demonstration project, anticipating 20-40% better performance compared to current technology. To help plan this pilot, the following model illustrates the general relationship between collectors, storage, and solar fraction for a mountain climate.
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