When electrical demand is low during the day, we may need a way to make use of excess PV electricity. To this end, we are experimenting with storing the energy directly as heat (heating water) or cold (freezing water). Alex Little, (Physics ’16) did his senior project on heating water in a natural gas water heater directly with DC electricity.
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| Installing four 425 W PV Solar Panels from SunPower on Pete’s Roof |
Introduction to DC Water Heating at the Grange Hall
One of the most valued commodities in a residential home is hot water. With the predicted decrease in price of photovoltaic panels (PV) and the need to use clean energy, using electricity from PV panels in water heaters only makes sense. PV panels output DC power unlike the AC power from the grid, because of this many of the systems in place currently run off AC power. Instead of rectifying the current we are using DC power to heat the water. This design will be implemented at the Grange hall in SLO to heat the water for their commercial kitchen and bathrooms.
For more details go to: Photovoltaic DC Water Heating