Solar Water Heating System
Solar water heating works well until the sun doesn’t cooperate — a backup element that only activates the shortfall, without overshooting on a sunny follow-up day, keeps the system efficient.
A solar water heater’s collector does most of the work on a good day, but system design still needs to cover cloudy stretches and overnight demand without adding a heat source that fights the solar input.
How PTC fits solar backup heating
An immersion-type PTC element sits in the storage tank, holding a minimum target temperature during low-sun periods. Because it self-limits at that target, it won’t add unnecessary heat on days when solar input is already sufficient, keeping the backup element from wasting energy.
Immersion type
Submerges directly in the storage tank, holding a minimum backup temperature during low-sun periods.
View Liquid Heater products →Why this matters for system efficiency
- Backup only when needed — self-limiting behavior means the element doesn’t compete with solar input on sunny days.
- Stable minimum temperature guaranteed even through extended cloudy periods.
- Simple integration into existing tank designs via immersion mounting.
See Liquid Heater for other mounting options if immersion doesn’t fit your tank design. PTCWORKS can help size a backup element for your system — contact our team with your tank volume and target minimum temperature.
Adding backup heat to a solar water system?
Send your tank volume and target minimum temperature — we’ll recommend a starting element.