The Apricus Solar Collector or Solar Water Heater is a device that absorbs thermal energy from the sun and converts it into usable heat. The heat is normally absorbed by water, or a freeze resistant water mix, which can then be used to supplement hot water heating, space heating and even space cooling via use of an absorption chiller or dessicant cooler technology.

Apricus solar collectors are ideal for large scale solar water heating applictions, able to be used in hotels, airports, apartment buildings or anywhere where hot water or heating is required. The economics of large scale applications are generally more favorable than domestic, as instead of having a pump and tank for every one or two solar collectors, a single tank and pump can be used for 50 solar collectors. Apricus solar collectors can accept mains pressure, are corrosion resistant and can be installed in series and/or parallel, thus are suited to a wide range of large and small scale applications.

Evacuated Tube Advantage

The advantage of solar tubes is that they insulate the inner tube from heat loss. As you would know if you have used a glass lined thermos flask, a vacuum is an excellent insulator This means that once heat is absorbed, it is transferred to the water in the manifold, and not lost to the outside environment. This is the key difference between solar tubes and flat plate solar collectors: the insulative properties. Combined with the heat transfer efficiency of the heat pipe, the Apricus solar collector can deliver excellent heat output all year round.

Apricus Solar Conversion Valve (SCV)

The Apricus Solar Conversion Valve (SCV) is a special brass valve designed to allow existing hot water tanks to be retrofitted into solar storage tanks, thus eliminting the need to purchase an additional tank.

The valve simply fits into the bottom inlet/drain port of the tank and allows To Solar , Solar Return as well as retaining the orginal function of the port (cold in or drain). The valves are available in both 3/4"M BSP and 3/4"M NPT threads to provide compatibility with most tanks.

The copper return pipe ensures delivery of hot water at a higher level than the cold out, thus preventing disruption of stratification layers. This also ensures that the coldest water is always delivered to the solar collector for heating, thus maximising solar conversion efficiency.