Water heating with solar

[Ai4px]

Hello, I currently have excess solar capacity (3.2kw) and I am wondering if anyone has experience using a dedicated water heater powered directly by dedicated solar panels. My option would be to use a 24 or 48v heating element and connect directly to a single inverter. Maybe a bad idea, but I wanted to check ,.. I have the ability to use a propane on demand heater as a backup. Any thoughts are appreciated ... Thx

I got a thermostat from Missiouri Wind and Solar for DC water heating. I put 3 275w panels on my pool house and wired them directly to the 120v heating element. Gave me one tank of water per day. DO NOT use the normal t-stat that comes with a water heater. DC will weld the contacts every single time.

 

[efficientPV]

I got a thermostat from Missiouri Wind and Solar for DC water heating. I put 3 275w panels on my pool house and wired them directly to the 120v heating element. Gave me one tank of water per day. DO NOT use the normal t-stat that comes with a water heater. DC will weld the contacts every single time.

Not anymore than the one you got from MW&S, they don't have a good reputation. Are your panels in series?