Lochinvar SCH065 User Manual
Getting Started
with Solar
Design Professional:
Lochinvar is very proud to present you with our Lochinvar TiSUN Commercial Solar Thermal Systems catalog
and want to thank you for your interest in our products.
We fully understand that in today’s engineering climate, it is difficult to know and incorporate every detail
and nuance in high performance HVAC and Radiant Systems. We are experts in the field of water heating
and now offer our expertise in solar heating technologies and how to incorporate them into new and
existing systems.
Our ability to provide comprehensive solar thermal design support and integration with our premium water
heating products ushers in a new level of professionalism not previously witnessed in the industry.
We invite you to partner with Lochinvar and allow us to be your resource for solar thermal system
knowledge, system sizing and design. We welcome you to contact us for any support that we can provide
you and look forward to the future ahead of us as we design and install green building strategies into your
customer’s facilities.
Thank you for your support.
Best Regards,
Lochinvar Corporation
Figure 1
Solar Thermal System Overview
The basics of a solar thermal system are very straight forward. We use a solar thermal
flat plate collector to harvest the sun’s energy. We transfer the solar thermal energy
into a dedicated pre-heat tank or heat exchanger for maximum efficiencies.
Major Components
A solar thermal domestic water system consists of a
collector, pump, differential controller, heat exchanger, expansion tank,
air management, and tank storage. Although this sounds like quite a
few components, the components found in a forced circulation solar
thermal system are identical to those in a closed loop heating system.
A properly designed solar thermal system will strive to find the proper
balance of collector square footage and storage volume so that the
system will operate at the highest efficiency and provide the quickest
return on investment (ROI).
After collector and storage have been selected, responsibly incorporating the other key components
ensures years of trouble free service. Proper pump sizing and flow, placement and sizing of an expansion
tank, as well as sensors will all enhance the performance of the core group of components.
Collectors
At the heart of every Lochinvar-TiSUN system is a solar thermal flat plate collector. Lochinvar-TiSUN
collectors are constructed with performance and durability in mind. All collectors offered by Lochinvar
bear the OG100 certification by the SRCC (see Figure 1). This certification lists the performance test data
as well as materials used to construct the collector.
Pump Stations
Solar Pump Stations integrate several necessary solar components on a single
chassis. This includes pump, differential controller, safety group (to include the
relief valve), and a place to connect an expansion tank. As an added bonus,
Lochinvar-TiSUN pump stations include an integral flow meter. This pre-packaged
system performs all monitoring of tanks and collector temperatures as well as Btu
metering.
Solar Control
Integral to the pump station is the differential controller. This control can be purchased
separately and paired with the supplied sensors and field supplied circulators to operate a
variety of systems. The included SD card can perform data logging functions as well as gives the
installer the ability to pre-program the control prior to installation at the job site. Our
differential controller also has a slow-start feature that avoids pump pulsing which is beneficial
on days that are overcast.
Solar Storage
When designing a solar thermal system, one thing needs to be kept in mind. The sun does not shine 24hours a day. Solar storage in commercial solar thermal systems is the key to maximizing the allowable
harvested Btu’s of energy that can be collected from the sun versus Btu’s that will have to be purchased
from the local utility supplier. When designing storage into a system, there are several possibilities for
transferring and storing this energy in the system.
o External heat exchanger w/tank
o Internal heat exchanger in tank
o Solar Hot Water Generator
o Stratified Tanks
Each of these strategies is explained in detail in the section titled, “How to Interface Systems”.
System Accessories
It has been said that, “the devil is in the details”. The performance and installation of a solar thermal
system can be detailed and enhanced with the proper use of solar accessories. It will be very common
for these items to be designed and incorporated into our systems.
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