This fall has been great for Generation PV and it’s dealers. Many Apricus systems have been installed and more and more people are choosing Apricus as their solar system of choice. We are excited by this growth and look forward to a great 2009. The website has been update many times with some out of date information being removed and new products and information being added. We have also just added a “Mailing List Sign Up” on the home page for easy sign up for the latest news and product updates. If you can’t find anything please let us know as we are adding content weekly and would love to answer your questions.

We have added a new section to ApricusCanada.com to highlight some of the many Apricus installations across the country. The list will grow every few weeks so check back often.

We are excited to announce our next Apricus Training held at the Holiday Inn - Markham on October 2, 2007. Click here for more details.

We've added a new "How To" article here which shows how to easily install an AP collector on a roof with the included flush mount frame. Enjoy.

We've added new videos to the site which are available for download in the media page. More will be posted shortly as we continue to add more content to the site. In the works is a DVD that will be available for shows, trainings, or personal use. Email us if you have any requests to be added on the DVD.

Recently much of attention has been drawn to the term "solar ready". It is simply a term used when home builders or renovators make some small allowances for solar hot water systems to be added at a later time. This is a great idea and we have come up with an "Apricus Solar-ready Home" page to answer all your questions. Click here to see this new addition to our site.

We met with a gentleman who was very interested in heat pipe principles and we thought we would share it with everyone. It's not very complicated but needs a good explanation.

The key principle of heat pipes for solar thermal is that they are evacuated to form a vacuum, so that the water boils at a low temperature, around 30 C / 86 F. This means that heat transfer can begin at this temp, and in the case of Apricus heat pipes can continue to transfer heat at temps beyond 200 C / 392 F.

The heat transfer capacity of Apricus heat pipes is in excess of 110Watts, but the sunlight will only give a max of about 50Watts per evacuated tubes, so the heat pipes are working at well below peak.

Under normal operation there is always an amount of water at the bottom, so the steam forms, rushes to the top, transfers heat, condenses and runs back down. Only with water in these two phases (water and steam) will the heat pipe operate effectively.

This is why the angle is important, as if lying flat the steam cannot rise to the top and water cannot run back down to replenish the store. In fact peak heat pipe performance is achieved within the range of 40-50 degrees. A range of 30-70 is acceptable for most installations, with the transfer dropping off beyond this range. Certainly if you want absolute peak output, then 40-50 degrees is ideal.

Need to see a visual? Click here and this should clear things up for you.

Have you ever wondered what's involved with installing a solar hot water system on your roof? You're not alone, and you've come to the right place. Click here to learn about the ins and outs to installing a solar thermal system on your home or business. This is one of the latest additions to the site in a continuing attempt to give you all the information you need to make a good decision about investing in a quality solar thermal system.

As with most products, not all evacuated tubes are created equal. But don't they all do the same thing? All evacuated tubes are designed to produce heat, but some just do a better job. Apricus collectors feature unique solar tubes that are designed to come up to temperature earlier. This can happen because the absorber is cylindrical. What does this mean in real life? While flat plate collectors and evacuated tubes that use a flat copper absorber are waiting for the sun to hit them "square on" for maximum performance, Apricus tubes are cranking out the heat earlier and wont stop until the sun goes down. It's simple, and it costs much less than many evacuated tube systems on the market.

A customer called us this week and asked us if the Apricus Collector could heat water in the winter. We explained it with a real world example. A 60 tube Apricus system was recently installed in Toronto, ON and while the installation was underway water was pumped up into the solar loop to test the connections. The outside temperature was -10 Celsius with the surrounding trees covered with ice. The temperature at the collector reached 160 celsius before the pumps were turned on to circulate the solar loop.

Does the Apricus collector work in the winter? An emphatic YES! As long as there is sunlight there will be heat. Many people don't believe us as they are used to flat plate performance which will often times produce next to no heat in such cold temperatures.

Please note you will not likely experience temperatures above boiling under normal conditions as heat will be added to your storage tank and not stay at the collector.

We are still improving this new site so we appreciate any constructive criticism as we add new features to the website.