Solar Thermal (Hot Water Heating)

Solar thermal collectors capture the sun's heat directly to warm water, a different technology from PV and a very efficient one for hot-water demand. Where PV makes electricity at 18 to 23% efficiency, solar thermal converts 50 to 70% of incident solar energy into useful heat, because turning sunlight into heat is far more direct than turning it into electricity. This lesson covers how it works, the collector types, the system, seasonal performance, and the solar-thermal-versus-PV question.