Hey all,
I saw a recent post from someone asking whether cooling their panels with water would improve performance and provide hot water at the same time and the consensus was that the panels would get too hot to dual function.
Got me thinking though about my ram pump. I have a small (530 watt) solar array and a spring fed (around 60 degrees f) creek with a ram pump. The ram pump delivers water to a 165 gallon storage system 50 feet uphill from the pump for a gravity fed irrigation system for my greenhouse. The ram pump pumps about 1 GPM.
If I line the back of the panels with aluminum flashing and pump through coils placed on the back flashing before sending the water up to the tank, would it:
1. Increase power output in a measurable way?
2. Increase lifespan of said panels?
I don't care what temperature water is delivered to the greenhouse since warm water does not seem to hurt the plants.
Thanks for your brainstorming, thoughts, concerns, wisdom, whatever you care to impart.
Gizmoguy