Solar panels create too much hot water

S

Sharpie

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Hello , just wandering has anyone endured the same problem as me in that their solar panels have actually produced too much water, in this hot weather. I'm talking about absolutely boiling , impossible to use by 10s of gallons.
These are NOT electricity producing panels they are the old type panels that just heat the water. As a last ditch measure I think I will have to turn off the control panel completely for them as you couldn't risk a shower or bath and I certainly don't want to drain water down the sink.. Its a pity because it would be great to store it but its just too hot to use.
 
Don't turn off the panels. This causes them to stagnate. This will cause them to reach an extremely high temperature. Possibly 200 degrees C. This can damage them.

Some sort of automatic heat dumping system should have been installed. Also a thermostatic mixer valve should have been fitted. This would have automatically mixed your dangerously hot water from your hot water cylinder with cold water in order to deliver water at a safe temperature to your hot taps.

Drain away water from your cylinder by running a hot tap. This will allow cold water into your cylinder and the panels will then heat this. Repeat this every day while the hot weather continues.
 
Thank you Robovac RiderThats what I have been doing , draining away the hot water using the hot tap but I'm concious that this is a massive waste of water in a period where we're told not to waste water if I were to keep doing it ?
I don't think I'd have an automatic heat dumping system , house was plumbed 30 years ago . How would I find that out and thank you for your advice,
 
Sharpie said:
I don't think I'd have an automatic heat dumping system , house was plumbed 30 years ago . How would I find that out
Click to expand...
It's usually a central heating radiator and a 3 way valve. The valve diverts the solar fluid into the radiator to dump some heat.
 
We too have what sounds like a similar solar system, installed 15 years ago. There is a holiday setting on our control which allows for ‘holiday cooling’- it does work. We were away for 2.5 weeks there at the end of June and didn’t come back to roasting water. Do you have a control panel?
 
Robovac rider said:
Some sort of automatic heat dumping system should have been installed. Also a thermostatic mixer valve should have been fitted. This would have automatically mixed your dangerously hot water from your hot water cylinder with cold water in order to deliver water at a safe temperature to your hot taps.
Click to expand...
Does this not come as standard when you install solar panels?
 
Clubman , in theory , yes but I have enough excess hot water to water the flowers at the Botanic Gardens and wash all the cars at the average shopping centre car park.
 
Sharpie said:
Thats what I have been doing , draining away the hot water using the hot tap but I'm concious that this is a massive waste of water in a period where we're told not to waste water if I were to keep doing it ?
Click to expand...
Do you have central heating with a hot water cylinder heating coil which uses the central heating to provide hot water?

If you have you could manually dump excess heat from your hot water cylinder as follows.

Turn off your central heating boiler.
Then fully open the radiators in some rooms.
Then run your central heating water circulation pump.
This will circulate cooler water through your cylinder coil out to the radiators and the heat will dissipate from the radiators.

If you have motorised valves you can manually open these by using the manual slider lever.

Open the water heating valve and one heating zone valve.

Run the pump for approx 1 hour. Open the windows in the rooms with the hot radiators to let the heat escape.

This is essentially using the excessively hot water from your cylinder as a boiler like heat source to heat your central heating system.

This is the exact same method I use for heat dumping, except that my system runs automatically using a relay from the solar panel and seperate relays to open the water heating and radiator motorised valves.
 
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