Principle of solar antifreeze container

In solar systems operating in moderate climate conditions, it is possible to use environmentally safe water without the addition of substances reducing the freezing point. It is then necessary to apply a solution that protects the system against the freezing of water. In the literature, several solutions can be found:

PCM flat-plate solar collector system with antifreeze This paper proposes a flat-plate solar collector system (FPSCs) with antifreeze characteristics which uses the phase change material (PCM) to store up a moderate amount of thermal energy during the daytime and release the energy during the night to prevent the FPSCs from freezing damage.

The anti-freeze protection system consumed annually from 7 to 13% of the heat generated by the collectors in the installation. Supporting the operation of the central heating system in the building during the winter season highly improved the efficiency of the solar collectors.

Based on these findings, to fill the knowledge gap this article presents the long-term results of thermal performance and anti-freeze protection of a solar heating system with heat pipe evacuated tube collectors with water as a solar thermal fluid. The operation of this system under real conditions was analysed for five years in southern Poland.

In the literature, several solutions can be found: automatic control system equipped with an anti-freeze protection (AFP) function which, by switching on the solar pump, allows for the transfer of heat from the heat storage to the SC;

There are no devices that heat the installation components exposed to freezing of water, e.g., heating tapes. The operation of this system under real conditions was analysed for five years in a residential and retail building located near Kraków in Southern Poland.