Use of natural gas for our buildings” heating experienced its decisive expansion in the eighties. The replacement of old communal coal boilers by simple individual gas boilers facilitated users” autonomy thus improving comfort. A simple preventive maintenance of the boiler allows us to enjoy hot water and heating all year round.
However, the misuse of natural resources and the environmental protection have pushed through international policies set out in Directives that oblige governments to take action. Renewables are at the core of these policies that recommend or force, if it is the case, alternative use of their technologies.
Natural gas boilers” installers have albeit reconverted into solar thermal, geothermal, biomass energy installers… and blend their skills to offer a comprehensive solution to cope with their customers” needs. The Spanish Gas Association, SEDIGAS, well aware that renewables are occupying a good share of the cake that till now was monopolized by natural gas facilities, has launched a guide to describe the various applications of solar thermal energy,, This guide aims at showing the different applications of this technology both in the building sector as in the industry, describing the components than can be found in such type of facilities, explaining the applicable regulations and design and maintenance considerations as well as the environmental benefits it offers, especially hybrid systems which use gas as a complementary or backup energy source.
The Guide offers a comprehensive review of the various solar thermal energy applications: production of hot water for sanitary use, swimming-pools” heating, cooling, heating, and industrial applications. It details the technical features of the sensor and its installation, as well as accumulators and heat exchangers. It includes descriptions of installation diagrams for hydraulic circuits, auxiliary equipment, control systems, and technical configurations for the production of low temperature heat.
It also refers to the current regulations at both national and regional levels, and allows calculating the size of solar installations and their maintenance implications.
You can access the manual download via the following link
