Notizie e conoscenza

An important solar tube component is the getter. This is a barium layer which is applied to the internal side of the tube after the vacuum has been created. In this way, the vacuum is additonally protected from air / foreign molecules and a defective tube will be indicated immediately by a white colouration of the getter.

The OEG 4flex® heat pipe solar tube has the largest getter all across the market and a TiNOx coating which is supposed to absorb 96% of the incident solar energy and emits only 4% back to the environment. This is currently the best available coating for solar collectors.

Other solar tubes in the market often only have a small getter of unspecified length and the barium layer is difficult to control.

A temperature difference of 130 K is not unusual with a solar system. Winter nights with temperatures of -30°C and sunny days with collector temperatures of about 100°C mean enormous strain fo a solar collector.

Besides the low-iron soda lime glass and the copper heat pipe, only high-quality materials are used with the OEG 4flex® heat pipe. High-quality EPDM rubber flanges insulate and protect the glass-metal seals.

Other tubes in the market only have thin rubberized end flanges to cover the mechanical glass-metal seal.

The OEG 4flex® heatpipe tube is a hermetically sealed and welded copper pipe within a vacuum. There are no soldered weak points. The connection of the tube with the absorber is by springs.

Other solar tubes in the market have soldered connections within the vacuum, which might lead to weak points with regard to tightness.

With the OEG 4flex® heat pipe, you have high-quality protective EPDM rubber caps at the lower end of the tube. Thanks to these caps, you can place the tube on the ground during the installation of the system and at the same time prepare your work place reasonably.

Other solar tubes in the market do not have this kind of protection.

With the OEG 4flex® heat pipe, high-quality low-iron soda lime glass is exclusively used. These tubes have been manufactured in Europe with a 30-year experience. That is the reason why we are able to give you a 20-year warranty on the vacuum of the tubes.

With other solar tubes in the market, borosilicate glass is used. This might draw helium in case of high temperatures and thus impair the vacuum. Very often, you will also find visible lines from glass processing with air pockets which might lead to a higher fragility.

With the OEG 4flex® heat pipe, the unique temperature limitation in the capacitor switches off at 90°C automatically. Only when the temperature decreases, the generation of energy will be resumed. Thus, all components and the solar fluid is protected.

No other solar tube in the market provides this advantage. They only have empty capacitor heads and no temperature limitation which leads to excessive thermal load in the system and solar fluid.

With the OEG 4flex® heat pipe, the capacitor head is conneced with the tube via a high-quality corrugated stainless steel pipe connection. It intercepts tensions which are created by different temperatures.

Other tubes in the market have rigid connections, which are not able to compensate tensions between glass and capacitor.

With the OEG 4flex® heat pipe, the tube is completely welded and 100% controlled. Thus, we can achieve a long-lasting vacuum in the heatpipe tube.

Other tubes used in the market have seals with plugs.

If you would like to pay by direct debit, you will find the current forms for the SEPA direct debit in the Service section under Payment & Shipping. There please click on the download.

A solar system mainly consists of the following components: collectors, pump group and storage tank. The pump group transports the solar liquid heated by collectors into the storage tank where its water is thus heated up. When the water in the tank has reached its maximum temperature, the pump group switches off and no more heat is taken away from the solar collectors. This is why they usually get so hot. So hot that the solar liquid vapourises in conventional collectors. As a consequence the solar liquid ages rapidly or even gets harmed. Additionally, all the components are afflicted by the high temperatures. In order to protect the solar liquid as well as the components, the 4flex+ tubes provide a patented overheat protection in the capacitor. As soon as the temperature in the capacitor rises up to 90° C, bimetal discs lying on top of each other close a valve that prevents more working fluid from rising from the heat pipe into the capacitor. It also prevents from giving off heat to the solar liquid. Thus it is effectively avoided that the solar liquid vapourises (see right part of the picture). When the storage tank can take up heat again, when the pump group works again, when the solar liquid is recirculated and the temperature in the capacitor drops below 90° C, the bimetal discs open the valve and the system returns to its normal operating state.