Thmax: Solamax vs Mazdon [RE-wrenches]

[Tom Lane, Energy Conservation Services]

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The  SRCC thermal performance ratings are based on FSEC testing. The use of 
evacuated tubes for space heating, especially radiant floor heating, is a 
total misunderstanding of the performance of evacuated tubes versus 
selective coated flat plate collectors that will out-perform evacuated tubes 
anywhere below 50 degrees latitude, at any elevation, and any outside air 
temperature and wind speed under sunny conditions or partly sunny/partly 
cloudy conditions for heating water up to 140F degrees.  The evacuated tube 
manufacturers try to emphasize collecting thermal energy under extremely 
cloudy conditions at less than 80 BTUs per sq ft when there is essentially 
nothing to collect.  Newbies to the solar industry just don't seem to 
understand.  You need to make hay when the sun shines, and collect energy 
when it's available.  The propaganda and disingenuous marketing from 
evacuated tube manufacturers, typically comparing non-selective coatings to 
their collectors, is misleading to the point of being an outright lie. 
Evacuated tubes all have problems with losing their imperviousness, their 
annealed glass CANNOT take hell storms like the tempered glass or flat plate 
collectors.  There is absolutely no need to use high maintenance evacuated 
tubes  ANYWHERE in the continental USA unless temperatures over 140F degrees 
winter time and 180F degrees summer time are needed.  There life span is 
typically less than 15 years compared to 30 to 50 years for a flat plate 
collector.  They are decidedly more expensive, they don't easily shed snow 
and ice in the winter like flat plate collectors, and require much higher 
temperature insulation than the elastomerick that can be used with flat 
plate collectors.  Direct flow designs are asking for trouble.  The entire 
system has to be shut down if there is a leak in one tube.  There seems to 
be a total lack of understanding of the correct application  and use of 
evacuated tube collectors especially by people whose primary experience is 
with photovoltaic installations.

Gator Tom 

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