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(506)2282-6357

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 Aquatherm Heat Pumps

Product Highlights

  Alternative Energy Technologies - top of the line solar water heaters

Aquatherm the absolute top of the line for Solar Pool heaters.

Metlund Water and Heat Savings System

 Solar Sun Rings  The Passive Solar Pool Heaters

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Solar Costa Rica, S.A.

Solar Collectors for Heating Water

How much do you spend to heat hot water?
In Costa Rica the highest users of electricity pay the highest rates.  In US terms, we pay from (US)$.08 to .18 per kilowatt hour. 
A family of 4 will typically spend more than $800 a year to heat water.
Solar will offset around $600 to $650 a year for a family of 3-4 (depending on usage patterns).
A system for a family of 4-6 is around $3200 installed in the highlands and just about the same system will serve 10 with a slightly larger storage tank around $3600 installed.  We sell and install the SunEagle AET 32 which is 4 ft x 8 ft with 1 inch headers and 1/2 inch risers, twice the capacity of any other solar collector in Costa Rica. This is an ‘industrial’ solar collector roof panel designed to deliver a lot of hot water for many years.

You can see that your investment in solar will start to pay for itself right away

A pool heater saving is even better, assuming you heat you pool with gas or electricity 

We have been working with and installing thermal solar water heaters for about 30 years. In that time, we have seen some good ones and some bad ones. Here, in Costa Rica, we offer the best we have found in terms of efficiency and durability.

 We have been working primarily with small hotels and some larger homes.  We can assist your builder/plumber to install your system and we will do site management for a fee. We can also make recommendations for your installer in Costa Rica. 

  Solar Costa Rica Solar Hot water Systems

       Consists of three basic elements:

1. A solar collector (panel), which sits in the sun on a roof or on a stand in an open area. The collector is a glass topped metal box and mounted inside is a solar absorber made of copper with copper water tubing going through it.

Here is a PDF spec sheet for the collector we use - The EagleSun

2. Circulation systems for circulating the water from the cooler part of the tank or tanks through the solar collectors either by use of a pump or by the placement of the tank above the collector(s). We use copper tubing in the solar loop.

3. Storage tank or tanks for holding the hot water gathered during the day for use later in the day or the next morning.  These are electric hot water heater tanks that can be the backup system or they can be connected to a propane gas water heater. We custom configure and insulate these water tanks.

  A Backup System is recommended - when there is no sun for a day or two and to accommodate partial solar gain during cloudy and partly cloudy weather. You can use a conventional hot water heater as a backup system - either gas or electric powered. This may already exist at your site.

Solar Collectors

We import the highest quality collectors in the world and they are from the US - with a 10 year guarantee and 30 year guarantee of the most critical welded connection. This is a long lasting appliance from AET that will outlast anything else on the market

 The Alternate Energy Technologies AET EagleSun collector series has been around since 1978 and is made in Jacksonville, Florida.  These solar panels have an expected life of at least 30 years.

The AE-Series is a top-performing collector that is aesthetically pleasing as well as reliable, durable and long lasting.

One collector (AE32) will easily heat up 80 gallons of in the Central Valley and 100 gallons in the beach areas of the Pacific. This household hot water for a family of 4 people. Here is a link to the specifcations of the AE EagleSun 32

If this would fit your needs, a family of 4 -6 people, then we recommend that this be installed with a 24-volt DC pump that is powered by a small solar photovoltaic panel. This will automatically operate when there is enough solar energy available to heat your water.  When used this way, you are assured of constant and reliable performance that is not dependent on utility supplied electricity.

AET Collectors on the Tree House Hotel

Monteverde, Costa Rica

Circulation systems

This part of the solar hot water system consists of the plumbing parts required to circulate the cooler water from the storage tank to the solar collectors. 

We have two types of pump systems. One uses a microprocessor with temperature sensors to determine when more heat is available from the sun. The other type uses a small solar electric (photovoltaic) panel mounted in the sun that is connected directly to a circulating pump.

In addition to the pump systems, the passive thermosyphon only works when the tank is mounted above the collector panels. This is a natural system that needs no pump to circulate the water through the collector panel. We will custom design and install thermoysphon systems.

House in Monteverde uses a small elect (24 volts DC) solar panel for electricity. The small panel is on the far upper side of the collector. This electric current powers a small circulating pump that runs the water into the copper tubing inside of the collector box 

Escazú , Costa Rica

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email: solar@solarcostarica.com
(from US first dial 011) (506)2282-6357  or Cell 8373-0558