Solar Eclipse - How it Works

Independent geyser installers and solar heating solutions

Products

Solar Energy Lighting Solutions

Download the BettaLights Brochure here.

BettaLights was designed and developed to provide a cost effective and green way of lighting up homes, schools, farms, camping areas and many more. The uses for BettaLights are endless and so is its energy.

We offer a wide range of BettaLights systems, to suit everyone’s needs - from room lights to security lights and street lights. These systems require no wiring and can be installed by anyone, there is no need for a certified electrician. Each system has its own solar panel, which can give up to 17 hours of light after only 5 hours of decent sunlight and each system comes with a day/night switch to conserve energy. BettaLights run off a newly developed, environmentally friendly lead crystal battery which has a 7 to 10 year life expectancy and a 30 month factory guarantee.

With BettaLights we offer our clients a chance to further cut back on electricity costs and their carbon footprint.

Solar Water Heating Systems

Greenheat 150lt	150 Litres	Flat Plate	Thermosiphon	Indirect
Greenheat 200lt	200 Litres	Flat Plate	Thermosiphon	Indirect
Greenheat 200lt	200 Litres	Flat Plate	Pumped	Indirect
Greenheat 250lt	250 Litres	Flat Plate	Thermosiphon	Indirect

Kwiksol 150lt	150 Litres	Flat Plate	Thermosiphon	Indirect	One panel
Kwiksol 200lt	200 Litres	Flat Plate	Thermosiphon	Indirect	One panel
Kwiksol 250lt	250 Litres	Flat Plate	Thermosiphon	Indirect

Understanding thermo-siphon

Thermo-siphon

When acted on by a heat source, such as the sun or underground heat, fluids often rise up. For example, when the sun warms up a body of water the water molecules within the water expand thus making the water molecules more buoyant which results in these heated water molecules to rise up. On the other hand cooler of colder water result that the water molecules in the water to contract and become less buoyant and sink down. This is a natural convection of fluid motion and this principle is used to full effect within a Solar Water Heating system.

This effect is known as Thermo-siphon and refers to a method of passive heat exchange based on natural convection which circulates liquid without the necessity of a mechanical pump.

Reverse thermo-siphon

Just as the sun heats the water in the collector, the night sky can cool a collector, causing reverse flow. Think about it. Water in the collector is cooled by night time stagnation. Cold water is heavier and sinks, pushing the entire loop into reverse flow, removing warmer water from the tank to the collector which is, in turn, cooled. This will quickly give away some of the hard-earned hot water.

To prevent this from happening, the collector must be positioned at least 300mm above the solar collectors or alternatively an anti-reverse circulation valve must be installed.

Components for solar installation

In each solar installation a variety of components must be used in order for the installation to be successful and for the system to work at maximum efficiency.

What types of systems are available

There are two types of solar collectors, namely flat panels and evacuated tubes.

Flat Panel Collectors

Two processes happen at the same time inside the flat panel collector:

When the sun shines through the transparent collect cover, the solar radiation is absorbed by and heats the absorber plate. The absorber plate conducts heat to the water in the riser tubes connected to it. Through natural convection (thermo siphon) the hotter less dense water rises to the top and colder less dense water moves to the bottom.

Evacuated Tube Collectors

Evacuated tubes are more complex than the Flat Panel Collectors.

An Evacuated tube consists of a double walled glass tube that has had air evacuated from them to for m a vacuum within the tubes. The tube contain a refrigerant, this refrigerant liquid in the tube will boil well below 100'C, as the vacuum is a very effective insulator, eliminating conduction. The heat arrives, through the vacuum, as radiation, and is the absorbed by the coating on the inner tube.

The glass tube is very fragile however it must be able to withstand a strike from a minimum sized hailstone of 25mm.

One of the reason why evacuated tubes are so effective is that greater variations on the orientation and inclination. This simply due to the design, they capture sunlight better as they have a greater surface area exposed to the sun at any time.

Evacuated Tubes	Flat Panel Collector
Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors are sealed within a vacuum sealed glass tube. This eliminates convection and conduction heat losses and also isolates the collectors from adverse weather conditions outside.	Flat Panel collectors are built within a solid, sealed case and covered with a tough tempered glass facing which helps to protect them from the elements. The air gap between the absorption plate and the collectors cover can lead to conduction and convection heat losses, especially on cold and windy days.
	Flat Panel Solar Collectors circulates water through insulated areas within the collectors. This makes them more prone to leakage, corrosion and flow restrictions.
If one tube becomes damaged, only that tube needs to be replaced. Depending on the type of tube used the entire system does not necessarily have to be shut down.	When a portion of a collector fails, the entire system must be shut down and replaced or repaired.
Because of their 360 degree collector design, evacuated tubes are relatively adept at accepting most installation angles.	Flat Plate Collectors, like PV panels, need to be placed directly true north and at roughly the same angle as the location's latitude. This means there are far fewer options for the installation and aesthetics must sometimes be sacrificed in order to protect the performance of the system.
Glass tubes are fragile and must be handled with care. Breakages are possible if not handled with care.	Flat panels are not as fragile as the glass tubes and thus are not prone to as many breakages.
Evacuated Tubes are perfect for nearly any climate, but really shine in the northern climates with cooler temperatures, shorter days and lower sun radiation.	Flat Panels can be used in most climates, but are significantly more effective in warmer, sunnier climates, where freezing and solar radiation is less likely to impact the performance of the system.
Evacuated Tubes are often more expensive initially, but this investment could be recouped quickly due to the increased performance of these collectors.	Flat Panel Collectors typically cost less from the outset that Evacuated Tubes.
Evacuated Tubes capture sunlight better as they have greater surface area exposed to the sun at any time.
Evacuated Tubes require a smaller roof area than comparable flat panel collectors.	Flat Panel collectors are flatter than Evacuated Tubes and can be colour coded to the client’s roof.