TP – 1326 An Introduction to Troubleshooting Solar Water Heating Systems for Professional Engineers

Description

Troubleshooting an HVAC system should involve more than looking for an obvious problem,. or replacing components at random in an attempt to get the system working again. This is particularly true of solar heating systems. What is required is a systematic procedure that carefully “troubleshoots” the system until the problem is located and repaired. What may appear to be the cause of a problem may actually be a symptom of another problem. For example, if a sensor is secured to an ungrounded solar collector, a discharge of static electricity may travel through the sensor wire and ruin the control. Replacing the control does not solve the problem that destroyed it. The new control is still likely to be damaged, and the system will be inoperative again. If the collector with the sensor is properly grounded, the actual problem has been solved. Now a new control can be expected to remain functional.