Drainback Systems as an Efficient and Safe Solution for Solar DHW Installations: Practical Experience
Abstract
In order to insure the durability of solar thermal installations, a self-drain solution called “drainback system” was developed in the 1980’s. Basically, this solution permits to avoid any risks of frost and overheating in the solar thermal collector fields. This safety system works on every solar installation, but it’s more likely to be installed on medium and large scale solar thermal systems which are especially affected during overheating periods. Even if this kind of system is a very promising one, the technology is still paradoxically not widespread because it’s not well known and implemented.