[RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar Water Heating Systems

[Dana]

As we build our latest off grid home we are living in a Yurt. The exterior roof is a vinyl product.
A neighbor complained to the county about our white roof this summer & we offered to paint it to be neighborly.
The manufacturer had us use a latex/acrylic paint on the roof. It has worked well. I assume that there are definitely paints that would work on the various pipe insulations at a much lower cost than aluminum coverings. All it took was a call to the manufacturer.

I wonder now that snow has started if our neighbor will want the roof white again....

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Dana Orzel                       Great Solar Works, Inc. 
208.721.7003                       dana at solarwork.com
Idaho Contractor - # 028765          Idaho PV # 028374
NABCEP # 051112-136                       www.solarwork.biz
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-----Original Message-----
From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of cwarfel
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 4:52 AM
To: solar1online at charter.net; 'RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org' <RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar Water Heating Systems

I thinkthis problem is really only "solved" by using the coverings suggested, especially it seems, aluminum jacketing.  I will be going off island in a week and I will have the chance to go to a store that sells these products. I am hoping to put this system into HomePower, so, this will be part of the article. Thanks for everyone's responses. I hopefully responded to everyone off line. Stay tuned.  Chris


On 11/6/2017 4:57 PM, solar1online at charter.net wrote:
> Hi Chris, Your question certainly generated a number of responses. 
> While the field applied covering I mentioned certainly peeled off and 
> had the consistency of latex paint, I did _not_ perform an analysis.
> There is outdoor latex paint which should have UV inhibitors, so 
> perhaps it really was latex. The original owner is gone, so no help 
> there but a paint manufacturer may be able to verify latex paint as an 
> inexpensive _and effective_ covering solution. What made this solution 
> stand out in my mind so well was the flex roof flashings, which when 
> unprotected become brittle (and useless) oftentimes before the ten 
> year mark. This painted flashing was just as flexible as a new unit 
> and as you are well aware, replacing a solar flashing is way more 
> involved than a plumbing flashing. I am aware of many manufacturers 
> that rebrand/repackage a common item as a solution for a very specific 
> problem and charge an outlandish premium for the common item in a 
> shiny package (sometimes not even a shiny package). Bill
>
> -----------------------------------------
>
> From: "cwarfel"
> To:
> Cc:
> Sent: 06-Nov-2017 13:01:11 +0000
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar 
> Water Heating Systems
>
> Hi Bill, thanks. I did not think latex would hold up anywhere near 
> that long.  Chris
>
>
> On 11/4/2017 9:13 AM, solar1online at charter.net wrote:
>
>     Chris,
>
>     The fitted covers certainly provide a more finished appearance. One of
>     my customers painted the insulation (w/o fitted covers) with latex
>     paint and after 30+ years the insulation was still quite flexible. My
>     take away was simply that eliminating the sun (UV) effects paid off
>     big time. As I remember they used white paint.
>
>     Best wishes,
>
>     Bill Loesch
>     Solar 1 - Saint Louis Solar
>     314 631 1094
>
>     	-----------------------------------------From: "Glenn Burt"
>     To: "RE-wrenches"
>     Cc:
>     Sent: 04-Nov-2017 00:21:14 +0000
>     Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar
>     Water Heating Systems
>
>       How about the white PVC jacketing? You can buy fitted elbow covers
>     and other fitted parts as well. Probably paintable in any color to
>     blend into location.
>
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> --
> Christopher Warfel, PE
> Entech Engineering, Inc.
> 401-466-8978

--
Christopher Warfel, PE
Entech Engineering, Inc.
401-466-8978

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