Apricus Installation Manual
24
collector.
The unit is a finned fluid to air style radiator
that can be used to dissipate heat from the
system once the tank has reached the
maximum temperature. The heat transfer
fluid circulates through the copper pipe
transferring heat to a set of large aluminum
fins, which in turn dissipate heat to the
surrounding air. Each HD-25 unit can
dissipate up to 1.5kW or greater with active
air flow and is suitable to dissipate the
excess energy from one (1) Apricus 30-Tube
Collector.
Note: The HD-25 is for external installation
only.
Alternative Thermal Dumps
During the summer, heat can also be
dumped into a hot-tub, jacuzzi, pool, towel
radiator, large storage tank or underground
thermal store.
Increased Angle Reduces Summer
Output
Apart from installing a smaller collector, a
good method of reducing summer heat
output is to angle the collector for optimal
winter absorption. This is achieved by
installing the collector at an angle 15
°
-20
°
above the latitude angle (so long as the
collector remains within the recommended
angles of 20
°
to 80
°
). This angle corresponds
closely to the angle of the sun in the sky
during the winter, thus maximizing winter
output. Conversely, during the summer
when the sun is high in the sky, the relative
surface area of the collector exposed to
sunlight is reduced, lowering overall heat
production by about 20-25%. This option is
ideal for installations that use solar thermal
for space heating. However, this depends
upon the overall size of the collector array
and a heat dissipation unit (or units) may still
be required for larger arrays.
