According to researchers at Tomsk State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (TSUACE), solar water heating systems installed on building rooftops consist of several main components. These include a vacuum solar collector (which converts solar energy into heat) and a tank that transfers the heat to water via what is called a pumping circuit, usually a gas boiler. Specialists from the university studied the operation of these systems in a Russian city, where engineers removed the shut-off valve and used a special antifreeze coolant to prevent malfunctions. However, this created a new problem. At night, when the rooftop collectors cool down, the warm fluid from the storage tank circulates automatically.
Nikolai Tsvetkov, head of the Heating and Gas Supply Department at the university, said, “We have found a way to eliminate these losses without risking the equipment. Our hardware and software system is an intelligent automation system that controls a special valve. It doesn’t stop the circuit completely but maintains it at the minimum required level.”
He added that the smart system allows for minimizing the loss of stored heat in the tank while maintaining a safe temperature range between -35 and -30 degrees Celsius. The study’s authors believe that using this technology opens up prospects for the widespread adoption of solar energy in Russia’s cold climates, noting that no similar technology currently exists.
