Frequently Asked Questions | Sunberry - Makes your energy

Where does the name Sunberry come from? ?

To operate, our solar panels use the Raspberry Pi , a very low cost and low consumption nano computer. Its logo is a raspberry. So as we collect the fruits of the sun (energy) and not raspberries, we have replaced the beginning with Sun.

What are the panels made of?

The base material is called coroplast, or alveolar polypropylene. Advantage, it is innexpensive, can be found everywhere and it is very resistant. It resist to heat up to 160°C and time and above all it makes it possible to make efficients solar panels at no cost. Since it is almost impossible to stick, we spent several weeks testing different solutions, before finding the one that is presented here.

Why not just use a black coiled spiral pipe?

Because it is more expensive, and especially it is inneficient at catching sun energy! There are plenty of tutorials on the web to make solar panels in black pipe, but you will never see the power measurements. If the power was measured as with our Sunberry App, we would see that the performance is bad and that we lose a lot of energy. Indeed, the water will be much too hot before reaching the outlet, so the pipe radiates a lot of energy and this radiated energy is not found in the water and is lost. One way to be effective is to measure. Without measure one can only believe, with the measure one knows. That's why we developed the Sunberry App and it made all the difference.

Will my panels work if I do not use the Sunberry App?

Yes but ... who will start or stop the pump when a cloud passes in the morning, in the evening? During cloudy periods, if the pump remains in operation, you will lose energy instead of catch it (heat escapes through the panels and the circuit). With the Sunberry App you will therefore produce much more energy and will have the pleasure to visualize your production, without doing anything.

What is a tutorial?

A tutorial is an online video training, which tells you step-by-step how to achieve your solar heating.

How many panels do I need to heat my house?

It all depends on where you live. But as long as there is sunlight it warms up, even in cold winter. It will require more or less panels depending on whether you have more or less sun. But it's good, our panels cost almost nothing, so you can add as many as necessary.

Does it heat up the winter?

Of course, otherwise it would not help much. In winter, as in summer the sun sends us 1000W of power per m². Our panels produce energy even if it is -10 °C (or less), and it is good because it is at this point that we need it.

Will the plastic not freeze and break in the winter?

Our panels are designed to operate as a drain back, ie they drain automatically if the water approaches 0 °C. So they can stay outside, they will not explode under the effect of the freeze because they will be empty of water.

Le plastique va fondre en été ?

Pas plus que les serres des agriculteurs :) Par conception nos panneaux ne montent pas au-dessus de 90°C, donc pas de risque car le polypropylène fond à 145°C. Et nous l'avons testé! Pour augmenter la durée de vie de vos panneaux, vous pouvez les refroidir en chauffant l'eau de votre piscine, le masquer ou simplement les ranger au garage puisqu'il sont très légers et faciles à déplacer.

Plastic will melt in summer?

No more than farmers' greenhouses :) By design our panels do not rise above 90 °C, so no risk because the polypropylene melts at 160 ° C. And we tested it! To increase the life of your panels, you can cool them by heating your swimming pool water, hiding it or simply storing it in the garage as it is very light and easy to move.

How can I heat my house with?

The simplest, make a hole in a wall or the frame of a door and place a water radiator in the room to heat. The radiator will be connected directly to the panels, the hot water will arrive directly in the room. We are already considering the possibility of simply connecting Sunberry to an existing heating system. Thanks to your enrollments we will be able to finance these tests and share with you the results.

Can I heat my pool with Sunberry?

Indeed, in summer you no longer need heating, so you can use your panels to heat your pool. If you only want to heat your pool (and not your house), it's even easier to make. Just follow the first step of building the panels and it will be even cheaper because there is no need for insulation for pool heating.

Do Sunberry panels generate electricity to charge my Tesla?

Not at all ;) Generating electricity with photovoltaics means recovering 10% of the solar energy and losing 90%. We capture up to 60%, or 6 times more. And it is fine because your main energy expenditure is heating! So it's much more efficient for saving money and especially much cheaper. But in addition you have already tasted to an unlimited hot shower without facing the energy waste?

And how do we do if we live in a city building?

There we can not do much for you, sorry. If you have a balcony you may want to put up panels but that is all you can do. Maybe a member of our community will come up with a solution soon.

How much does it cost ?

This is the key feature of Sunberry, the cheapest. Everything will depend on the number of panels you want to install but each large panel costs less than 40 $ to make. For 4 panels (thus + 5000W of solar power), with the complete installation (circuit, water tank) and your inscription to the tutorials on this site you will get for about 400 €. Either the price of a single commercial solar thermal panel ;)


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