DO YOU KNOW WHY IT IS ADVANTAGEOUS TO HEAT UP WATER BY PHOTOVOLTAICS?

Many people still see the energy produced by photovoltaic panels as "better, " and so it should be used to power some less ordinary appliances than a water heater.

Surely, if the photovoltaic power plant is the only source of energy, there are more important uses than a boiler, but that's not common in the Czech Republic. Almost every house is connected to the energy grid, and a photovoltaic power plant is only a way to reduce the consumption of "paid" energy. It goes without saying that investing into such a power plant will only pay off if you can make the most energy-efficient use of it. The problem with the sun is that it shines the most when energy is needed the least. Most people are at work, so they don't wash, cook, and iron. While some appliances can be programmed to start later, who wants to leave the laundry wet and creased in the washing machine for several hours?

Therefore, it's good to accumulate energy from the sun. There are not many methods available – either in electrochemical accumulators or as heat. Accumulators offer wider possibilities of how to use the accumulated energy – it can power lights, refrigerators, computers, TVs and certainly heat water. So how you use it is your decision, which is an advantage. But the batteries are still a relatively expensive part of the PV plant, and they have a limited lifespan. Correct charging and discharging cycles have to be kept, and they must be treated with "velvet gloves."

Heating water by the accumulation of energy is quite different. It doesn't matter if the boiler element is powered by AC or DC, whether its supply voltage fluctuates, whether it is eighty, fifty or twenty-two volts. It is just a resistive spiral, and the supply voltage corresponds to the flowing current and creates radiated power. It is an ideal appliance for a source with such a fluctuating power as the sun; rising over the horizon in the morning, wandering through the sky during the day, hiding on the other side of the earth at night and sometimes blocked by clouds. The performance of the photovoltaic panels is also constantly changing. But it does not matter to the heater; it converts all the electrical energy into heat. A normal family boiler consumes six to ten-kilowatt hours of energy a day and costs five to eight thousand crowns. Accumulators capable of delivering such energy are about ten times more expensive, and their lifespan is one-third of the boiler. Every day, people need hot water, and it doesn't matter if they save on televisions, refrigerators, computers, dishwashers or water heating. Water heating is simply another, much cheaper and less demanding way to accumulate the sun's energy. The SOLAR KERBEROS system has developed this philosophy.