LATENTO Solar systems
It is not the size of the collector area or the storage volume which is decisive regarding the effectiveness of a solar heating system, but the efficiency of its components, their mutual interaction and how well they are tuned to the demands of the operators. With the LATENTO XXL stratified storage tank and the LATENTO CPC tube collectors, you can use even minimum solar yield to heat water or supplement your heating system.
The sophisticated LATENTO solar system demonstrates its strengths during the transitional months and in winter, when solar energy is often not used at all or only to a minimum extent since it delivers solar yield even in frosty weather or on days with little sunshine, convincing thanks to its outstanding thermal insulation.
An overview of the perfectly matched components:
LATENTO XXL Stratified storage tank
In 2006, the LATENTO XXL was the first solar storage tank to be awarded the "Blue Angel" badge of environmental excellence on account of its energy efficiency. We achieve this high efficiency level through the thermal stratification of the stored water as well as by using an "insulating material sandwich" (PP/PUR/PP) rather than steel for the tank wall. The compact size also contributes to the increase in efficiency, since the storage tank is quickly charged even in poor sunlight, guaranteeing the availability of hot water at usable temperatures.
By the way, our solar system gets its name "LATENTO" from the layer of latent material about 10 cm thick which floats on the stored water and absorbs thermal energy when solar yield is high, stores it and then returns it to the system later – when the temperature in the storage tank drops. For even more energy efficiency.
A brief look at how the LATENTO XXL works:
The solar fluid heated via the collectors delivers thermal energy to the stored water via a long-wave corrugated stainless steel heat exchanger. Since the system is operated without pressure, the hot stored water collects in the upper section of the tank. The fresh water flows from bottom to top through the tank, gradually heating up in the lower, less hot section, absorbing heat from the stored water. This is an advantage for the efficiency of the system, since a high temperature difference between the stored water and the solar heat exchanger increases the output of the heat exchanger and the system starts to work even when solar yield is low. As in a continuous-flow heater, the drinking water heats up as it flows through the top section, which has a temperature of 85 °C – with all the hygienic advantages: fresh, hot water in which legionellae or other bacteria have no chance to flourish.
The heat exchanger for heating back-up is in the lower, cooler area of the storage tank, since the average tapping temperature for heating systems is only around 45 °C. During longer periods of bad weather, an optional electric heating rod or other connected heater ensures hot water is always available.
The solar stratified storage tank XXL is available in two sizes, as XXL 300 for smaller households with little space and as XXL 500 for larger households or two-family houses. Where more hot water is required (e.g. in schools or hotels), you can combine several solar storage tanks.
See the broshure or technical documentation to find out in detail how the system works.
LATENTO Vacuum tube collector CPC
The selectively coated aluminium-nitrite absorber surface inside the vacuum tubes is the heart of the LATENTO solar collector. It converts incidental sunlight to heat and delivers this to the thermal circuit. The partial coating in conjunction with highly reflective CPC mirrors behind the tubes guarantees optimum direction of the sunlight to the absorber even at unfavourable incidental angles e.g. in diffuse light, and prevents undesirable radiation. In addition, the vacuum in the glass tubes ensures there is little heat radiated away, thus increasing the efficiency of the collectors at cold outdoor temperatures.
All these characteristics and functions make the CPC vacuum tube collectors about 5x more efficient than flat collectors on an average winter day.
The perfect interaction between the LATENTO stratified storage tank and the LATENTO vacuum tube collector guarantees high solar yield and minimum heat loss all year round and thus makes the LATENTO solar system into a sustainable, attractive alternative to fossil fuels which are expected to become unaffordable in the next few years.
The LATENTO WP-S, a special version of the LATENTO XXL, is used for single-family homes and multi-family houses with solar collectors and heat pumps up to 15 kW. The heat exchangers, which have been specially adapted to the low energy level of heat pumps, allow optimum storage and use of the energy from the heat pump for water heating and to back up the heating system. At the same time, there is sufficient capacity available in the upper temperature range (up to 85 °C) to store solar energy on sunny days.
