The safety issues that should be paid attention to during the installation of solar water heating systems (apparatus) include three aspects: one is the destructiveness of installing solar water heaters to buildings; the other is the safety issues of solar water heaters themselves, such as falling, lightning strikes, etc.; the third is the safety guarantee of maintenance personnel during maintenance.

(1) Most of the solar water heaters “installed after the fact” (post-installation) may have a greater burden on the floor structure because the additional load brought by the weight of the solar water heater and the bracket to the building is not considered in the architectural design; pipeline installation and foundation burial will damage the original building structure, waterproof and thermal insulation structure and building decoration layer, resulting in roof leakage and wall seepage. The laying and installation of some solar water heater bracket pipelines on the roof will also affect the drainage of the building roof.

(2) Some collectors are not firmly connected to the building solid structure when installed, and are only installed on some non-load-bearing railings or external thermal insulation structures. Especially for high-rise buildings, the higher the installation position, the greater the wind load to be endured. If the solar collector cannot be connected to the building structure with a certain rigidity, or the selected embedded parts and connecting parts are not properly rust-proof, it is very likely to cause the problem of high-altitude falling, and the consequences are unimaginable. The frame and bracket of the solar collector are made of steel, which can easily act as an air-termination device to withstand strong lightning currents. When the collector is flashed, the lightning current will enter the bathroom along the metal water pipe and hot water, causing damage to the collector and other equipment, and even threatening the personal safety of users.

(3) The future maintenance requirements need to be considered when installing the solar water heating system, and there will be certain dangers in the maintenance of some solar collectors installed on the walls and sloping roofs.

In building design and installation of solar collectors, the above three points should be considered to ensure the safety requirements of solar collector installation. Specifically do the following:

(1) The solar collector should be under the protection of the lightning protection system of the building. If it is not within the protection range, an air-termination device should be installed and connected to the roof lightning protection device.

(2) During the architectural design, the suitable embedded parts and their arrangement positions should be designed in advance, and the connection with the building structure, such as beams, columns and slabs, should be considered. During the construction of the main structure of the building, the embedded parts are embedded, and the embedded parts and connecting parts should be waterproofed according to the relevant building codes.

(3) Additional loads such as collectors (brackets and connectors), wind loads, and lightning loads should be calculated during building design, and the bearing capacity of building roofs and walls should be reasonably designed.

(4) When the pipeline needs to pass through the roof or wall, the corresponding waterproof casing should be pre-buried, and the original waterproof and thermal insulation structure should not be affected.

(5) Drainage structure measures should be taken when the collector is combined with the roof, which will not affect the normal drainage of the roof, and will not cause water accumulation to adversely affect the roof and the collector.

(6) When the collector is installed, a certain maintenance space should be set aside as much as possible. In the case of unsatisfactory conditions, the surrounding building components can be used, or special maintenance facilities can be set up to ensure that the maintenance personnel have enough space for maintenance operations.