CROSSOVER SOLAR PANELS

The Crossover Evacuated Tube Solar Panel is one of the most efficient panels available in the market today. We offer our panels with 12, 16, 20, 24 or 30 glass evacuated tubes. Custom panels are available upon request. The most popular model so far has been our 16-tube panel.

Header end of tube		The glass tubes are constructed of 3.3 Borosilicate Glass. The glass tubes act as a very long vacuum bottle with an inner and outer glass tube with vacuum between the glass structures. In the process of pulling the vacuum, a Barium Getter----see photo----is inserted into the base of the outer glass tube. The inner glass tube is then inserted into the outside tube with the Getter centering the inner glass tube. The Glass Tubes are heated to a high temperature, and the vacuum is pulled. The the two glass tubes are then fused together at the open end.
Barrium getter		The Barium Getter also serves another purpose. When the glass tubes are heated before the ends are fused together the Barium Getter also becomes very hot and emits a pure layer of Barium at the bottom of the tube which will look like a chrome plate on the inside of the outer glass tube. If in the future, the glass becomes fractured or broken, the shiny chrome look will change to a milky color. Thus, making it easy to see if the vacuum has been lost in a particular glass tube.
Bottom end of tube.		The photo on the left shows the chrome colored base of the glass tube. If you look closely, you will see the Barium Getter between the glass tubes.
Copper heat pipes and evaculated tubes entering insulated header.		The photo to the left shows how our evacuated tubes and hot pipes are installed into the insulated header box. When replacing a glass tube, you must lubricate the glass end with a soapy solution so that it will slide into the red gasket, thus creating a good tight seal. The vacuum reduces the heat loss in normal or cold weather to almost nothing, allowing the heat energy captured by the Heat Tube to be transferred almost instantaneously into the copper header pipe instead of being lost to the atmosphere.
MODEL NUMBER: CO-ESP16 Downloadable Spec Sheet (PDF)		(1) Our “Crossover Evacuated Glass Tube Solar Energy Collector” consists of 16 each, Borosilicate 3.3 glass vacuum tubes that gather the Sun’s Energy and transfer it through a patented medium to the header. The energy is then extracted by circulating water or glycol through the header. (2) Working Principle: As the Sun’s energy enters the Crossover Evacuated Tube Solar Panel, it penetrates first the outer, the vacuum, and then the inner Borosilicate 3.3 Glass Tubes. On the inside of the inner tube, there is a special coating that is called the absorber. This AL-N/AL Absorber Coating inside the inner glass absorbs the Sun’s Energy and transfers it to special formed rounded heat fins that are inside the inner glass tube. At this point, the heat energy is then transferred from the heat fins to the heart of our collector, which are our copper heat pipes filled with our non-toxic Patented Heat Transfer Medium inside. The heat energy is instantaneously transferred through the copper heat pipes to the copper manifold located in the well-insulated header box. The heat pipes are SILVER SOLDERED into the copper header giving 100% heat dissipation. As glycol or water passes through the ¾” diameter copper manifold pipe in the header box, it absorbs the heat energy being furnished by the heat pipes. For our 16 evacuated tube model for example, you can think of it as 16 separate energy sources constantly supplying energy to the ¾” Copper Header Pipe. The heated glycol or water is then circulated through a heat exchanger in a storage tank, which transfers the heat energy into the potable water inside the storage tank.
* There is no water being circulated through the vacuum tubes, only through the ¾” diameter copper manifold pipe in the insulated header box. The flow rate will average from 1.5 to 2.5 GPM. The amount of water inside the ¾” diameter copper manifold at one time is approximately 0.2 of a gallon. * By SILVER SOLDERING the heat pipe directly into the header manifold pipe, the heat transfer is more efficient than what the competition offers when they insert their “bulb end” into their manifold. *Each and every Crossover Panel is pressure tested to ensure that there are no leaks in the system.

(3) Main Performance Characteristics

• Our Crossover Evacuated Solar Panel is effective almost all year round. Even on a cloudy day, you will extract energy from the Sun. On those cloudy days with low energy extraction, your auxiliary electric back up system will kick in to supply your additional hot water needs.
• The combination of the Borosilicate 3.3 vacuum tubes, the AL-N/AL inner coating, the pre-shaped aluminum fins for heat absorption, and with our patented heat conducting medium inside the copper heat pipe, all contribute to making this solar panel one of the most efficient in the market place today. It should be noted that the AL-N/AL coating offers excellent solar radiation absorption and minimal reflection properties.
• The problems of tubing blockage and low output power caused by water deposit, is fundamentally avoided as there is no water circulation in the vacuum glass tubes. The problem of tube bursts due to extreme low temperature is also avoided.
• Because water does not flow through our Evacuated Tubes, but only through the insulated copper header, on a sunny cold winter day, there is almost no energy loss, only great energy gain. It should be noted that the glass tubes that surround each of our heat tubes is in a vacuum. This nearly eliminates the influence of ambient air temperature. With flat plate collectors, there is substantial heat loss on cold days due to the construction of the flat plate collectors. It is a well know fact that Evacuated Tube type Solar Collectors perform better on cloudy days than a flat plate collector.
• Our Borosilicate 3.3 glass vacuum tubes offer heavy resistance against strong wind and hailstone. Our panels will withstand the impact of hailstone up to 2.5 cm diameter.
• Our engineers have designed our Solar Panels to withstand sever hot and cold weather conditions. If a tube is damaged, it does not shut down the whole system, as there is no water flowing through the glass vacuum tubes. To replace a glass vacuum tube is easy and fast.
• Our systems can be used in an Open Loop or Closed System either in a Passive or Non Passive system.

(4) Technical Parameters:

1. The water heater average thermal efficiency is ≥= 55%. The average coefficient of heat loss is ≤ = 0.2W/ (m2K). The electric power is 1500W±10%.

2. Vacuum glass tube:
Diameter 58mm X 1800 mm Long. The vacuum degree <= 5×10^-3pa. Absorption rate >=92%. Anti-hail below diameter 2.5 cm. Temperature inside a dry tube under direct sunshine can reach 480 degree F. Service life is estimated at 20 years.