... new system developed

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34128, 14 April 1976, Page 20

... new system developed

Two Christchurch men have developed a solar water and space heating system that they believe to be more effective and versatile, easier to install, yet cheaper than other systems in the market.

They are Mr P. D. Askey, a company director, and Mr H. Lynch, a design engineer. Mr Askey says that he became interested in solar heating as a hobby, Mr Lynch has been involved with solar heating through his antipollution work. The men, who have known each other for some time, decided about two years and a half ago to design and build a solar heating system mainly for their own satisfaction. They-were convinced that they could build a better system than others now available.

The result is a system that D.S.I.R. tests have shown to be more effective than other systems similarly tested, say Messrs Askey and Lynch. The new system basically consists of only two parts: a solar heat collector and a manifold. The collector is simply a strip of extruded flanged aluminium about 10 cm wide, with a tube through the centre of the entire length. The manifold is a length of aluminium channelling into which the ends of the collectors slide like ammunition into a cartridge clip. To assemble a solar heating panel, you take, say. 10 collector strips and cut them to the required length. You then place the collectors ver-

tically side by side and cut two manifold strips, one for each side, to the combined horizontal length of the exposed ends of the collectors. The final step is simply to slide the manifolds over the ends of the collectors and fill any open parts of the channelling with epoxy resin or something similar. When the unit is installed in a roof or wall, water from a holding tank is fed with a length of hose into one manifold of the panel. The water circulates from the manifold through the collectors and hot water is drawn off from the other manifold to a storage tank.

The collectors have lateral grooves in the flanges w’hich :increase the reflective area and allow the panel to absorb maximum solar radiation irrespective of the position of the sun. Mr Askev says that most other systems need to have the sun shining directly on them to be really effective. He says that with his system, a 4 sq. m pane! would provide ample hot water all year round for a family of six in an average house. The cost would be about $4OO for the whole family, compared with about $2OO per person for many other solar heating systems. Mr Askey says that an obvious cost saver is the fact that his system can be installed by the home handyman using perhaps only a hacksaw and a hammer. He says that most other systems need to be professionally installed and require welding and other work. The versatility of the new system seems to be unique. Unlike other systems, Mr

Askey’s water heating panels can be used for space heating simply by facing the collector strips into a room instead of toward the sun. The panel then acts as a convector heater.

Mr Askey says that water and space heating may be achieved simultaneously by alternating the positions of the collectors, with one facing outward, the next facing inward, and so on. Messrs Askey and Lynch are now looking for a company to make and market the system under licence. A prototype panel has been extruded by Comalco, but this company is not “in an ideal position to market the units locally. The two men would like to see the system marketed in kitset form through retailers and building supply firms. They also see a good export potential for the system.