**Benefits of solar heating systems**

Using solar heating to heat your home is becoming more popular with people in the UK. Not only is it more environmentally friendly but can be very cost effective also. In fact, in many cases it is possible to cut down your heating costs by 50% or more by using solar heating as compared to heating your house using more popular heating systems.

By using, what is called passive solar heating design techniques, it is possible to convert your home to this type of heating. It is best used on new developments, as it does involve a lot of structural changes to the property. The process involves placing large, insulated windows on the south facing side of the property and then placing a large amount of thermal mass, such as concrete floor or special heat absorbing wall close to the windows.

Once the major work has been done to the property, it is very simple to maintain the solar heating. Simply keep the glass on the south facing side of the property clean, make sure the sun has a clear path to shine on the concrete floors or heat absorbing walls and maybe even consider using special insulating curtains to prevent excessive heat loss from the windows at night.

Most solar heating systems typically have a collector and a storage tank. Other than these two features, the design of the system can vary significantly depending on the size of the property. Some systems can incorporate pumps and controls to transfer the heat but the more reliable units work without the pumps and transfer the heat passively.

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