Solar Expansion Tank Sizing

Determining the size of this tank requires knowledge of how hot the solar collector circuit can become.

Solar expansion tank sizing.

For custom thermal expansion tanks the acceptance volume must be sufficient to accommodate the expansion of the heat transfer fluid when the solar loop goes into stagnation. That subject is analyzed here. Whether your system is designed for hydronic heating cooling geothermal or solar thermal an expansion tank plays an important part in maintaining system. Most installers tend to use tanks designed for hydronic heating which requires about 1 4 the size and operates on a much lower temperature.

Calculate system volume v total v pipng v. Thermal expansion tank sizing. The sizing of this tank is similar yet different from siz ing an expansion tank in a typical hydronic heating system. This value is used to select the minimum expansion tank size for your solar thermal system.

10 10 000 water heater temperature f. In indirect systems expansion tanks must be appropriately sized for the system to operate properly. Domestic hot water volume. Extrol expansion tanks accept expanded fluid in closed loop hydronic systems to control pressure buildup improve comfort and help reduce energy costs.

Part ii of this discussion will appear in an. Solar thermal expansion tank sizing guide for bosch and buderus solar thermal systems introduction the following sizing guide offers step by step calculations to determine the minimum volume of expansion. Sizing the expansion tank. Nearly seven decades after inventing the first diaphragm expansion tank amtrol s lineup now includes specialty models engineered for modern high efficiency systems.

We include links to additional expansion tank sizing guides from equipment manufacturers such as amtrol extrol and pex as well as links to online calculators that can give an expansion tank sizes based on known water volume of the heating system. Calculating the expansion tank size vet through out the course of its life span a closed loop solar hot water system will get exposed to wide temperature changes. Expansion tanks used specifically on the solar side of an indirect glycol system absorb increasing system pressure by allowing some of the fluid to enter the tank. To prevent the system from exceeding the pressure range allowed by the designer there s a need to park the fluid volume expansion.

Sion tank must accommodate the increase in volume.