How to Make Your Own Solar Water Heater

/haʊ tə meɪk jə əʊn ˈsəʊlə ˈwɔːtə ˈhiːtə/

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report
/ðɪs ɪz ðiː viː əʊ ˈeɪ ˈspeʃəl ˈɪŋglɪʃ tekˈnɑːləʤiː rɪˈpɔːrt/

Solar water heaters are used around the world and are not very difficult to build
ˈsoʊlər ˈwɔːtər ˈhiːtərz ɑːr ˈjuːzd əˈraʊnd ðə wɜːrld ænd ɑːr nɑːt ˈveriː ˈdɪfəkʌlt tuː bɪld

The system we are going to describe is based on a design developed some

years ago in Afghanistan.
/ðə ˈsɪstəm wiː ɑːr ˈgoʊɪŋ tuː dɪˈskraɪb ɪz beɪst ɑːn ə dɪˈzaɪn dɪˈveləpt sʌm jiːrz
əˈgoʊ ɪn æfˈɡænɪstæn.

Since then, it has been built and used in many countries.

/sɪns ðen ɪt həz bɪn bɪlt ænd ˈjuːzd ɪn ˈmeniː ˈkʌntriːz/

It can heat seventy liters of water to sixty degrees Celsius.

/ɪt kæn hiːt ˈsevəntiː ˈliːtərz əv ˈwɔːtər tuː ˈsɪkstiː dɪˈgriːz ˈselsiːəs/

It can do this between sunrise and noon on a clear day with an average air
temperature of thirty-two degrees Celsius.
/ɪt kæn duː ðɪs bɪˈtwiːn sʌnˌraɪz ænd nuːn ɑːn ə kliːr deɪ wɪð ʌn ˈævərɪʤ er
ˈtempərəʧər əv ˈθɜːrtiː tuː dɪˈgriːz ˈselsiːəs/

There are two parts to the solar water heater.

/ðer ɑːr tuː pɑːrts tuː ðə ˈsoʊlər ˈwɔːtər ˈhiːtər/

One part is made of a sheet of metal painted black.

/wʌn pɑːrt ɪz meɪd əv ə ʃiːt əv ˈmetl ˈpeɪntɪd blæk/

Black surfaces become hotter in the sun than surfaces painted any other color
/blæk ˈsɜːrfɪsɪz bɪˈkʌm ˈhɑːtə ɪn ðə sʌn ðæn ˈsɜːrfɪsɪz ˈpeɪntɪd ˈeniː ˈʌðər ˈkʌlər/

This black metal plate is called a collector.

/ðɪs blæk ˈmetl pleɪt ɪz kɔːld ə kəˈlektər/

The collector is placed in contact with the water.

/ðə kəˈlektər ɪz pleɪst ɪn ˈkɑːntækt wɪð ðə ˈwɔːtər/
 There are several kinds of metal sheets that can be used for the collector.
/ðer ɑːr ˈsevərəl kaɪndz əv ˈmetl ʃiːts ðæt kæn biː ˈjuːzd fər ðə kəˈlektər/

Corrugated metal will work very well.

/ˈkɑːrʊˌgeɪtɪd ˈmetl wɪl wɜːrk ˈveriː wel/

Corrugated sheets are often used as roofs on housing.Once the water is

heated, it is kept hot with insulation material.
/ˈkɑːrʊˌgeɪtɪd ʃiːts ɑːr ˈɔːfən ˈjuːzd æz ruːfs ɑːn ˈhaʊzɪŋ wʌns ðə ˈwɔːtər ɪz
ˈhiːtɪd ɪt ɪz kept hɑːt wɪð ˌɪnsəˈleɪʃən məˈtiːriːəl/

This allows the water to stay warm for a long time.

/ðɪs əˈlaʊz ðə ˈwɔːtər tuː steɪ wɔːrm fər ə lɔːŋ taɪm/

The second part of the solar water heater holds the water for the system.
/ðə ˈsekənd pɑːrt əv ðə ˈsoʊlər ˈwɔːtər ˈhiːtər hoʊldz ðə ˈwɔːtər fər ðə ˈsɪstəm/

This storage tank can be a container that holds about one hundred liters.
/ðɪs stɔːrɪʤ tæŋk kæn biː ə kənˈteɪnər ðæt hoʊldz əˈbaʊt wʌn ˈhʌndrɪd ˈliːtərz/

Two rubber pipes are attached to the water storage tank.

/tuː ˈrʌbər paɪps ɑːr əˈtæʧt tuː ðə ˈwɔːtər stɔːrɪʤ tæŋk/

One pipe lets water flow into the system.

/wʌn paɪp lets ˈwɔːtər floʊ ˈɪntuː ðə ˈsɪstəm/

The other lets water flow out.When the water heater is working correctly,
water will flow from the storage tank to the collector and back again.
/ðiː ˈʌðər lets ˈwɔːtər floʊ aʊt hwen ðə ˈwɔːtər ˈhiːtər ɪz ˈwɜːrkɪŋ kəˈrektliː
ˈwɔːtər wɪl floʊ frʌm ðə stɔːrɪʤ tæŋk tuː ðə kəˈlektər ænd bæk əˈgen/

You can use the hot water at the top of the tank for washing and cleaning.
/juː kæn ˈjuːz ðə hɑːt ˈwɔːtər ət ðə tɑːp əv ðə tæŋk fər ˈwɑːʃɪŋ ænd ˈkliːnɪŋ/

You can change the flow of water so that the temperature is hot or warm as desired
juː kæn ʧeɪnʤ ðə floʊ əv ˈwɔːtər soʊ ðæt ðə ˈtempərəʧər ɪz hɑːt ər wɔːrm æz dɪˈzaɪrd

This solar water heater is easy to build and operate.

/ðɪs ˈsoʊlər ˈwɔːtər ˈhiːtər ɪz ˈiːziː tuː bɪld ænd ɑːpəˌreɪt/
 It will last about two years before the rubber pipes need to be replaced.
/ɪt wɪl læst əˈbaʊt tuː jiːrz bɪˈfɔːr ðə ˈrʌbər paɪps niːd tuː biː rɪˈpleɪst/

There is also something else you will need to make the solar water heater work the sun
/ðer ɪz ˈɔːlsoʊ ˈsʌmθɪŋ els juː wɪl niːd tuː meɪk ðə ˈsoʊlər ˈwɔːtər ˈhiːtər wɜːrk () ðə sʌn

As you might expect, the heater will heat water only on sunny days.
/æz juː maɪt ɪkˈspekt ðə ˈhiːtər wɪl hiːt ˈwɔːtər ˈoʊnliː ɑːn ˈsʌniː ˈdeɪz/

You can get more information about solar water heaters and other projects
from EnterpriseWorks/VITA
/juː kæn get mɔːr ɪnfərˈmeɪʃən əˈbaʊt ˈsoʊlər ˈwɔːtər ˈhiːtərz ænd ˈʌðər
ˈprɑːdʒekt frʌm entərˌpraɪz wɜːrks ˈvaɪtə.

This group works internationally to fight poverty.

/ðɪs gruːp wɜːrks ˌɪntərˈnæʃʌnlli tuː faɪt ˈpɑːvərtiː/

The website is enterpriseworks.org.

/ðiː ˈwebsaɪt ɪz entərˌpraɪz wɜːrks dɑːt org

Choose the link for News & Resources, then click on Publications.
/ʧuːz ðə lɪŋk fər nuːz () ˈriːsɔːrsɪz ðen klɪk ɑːn pʌbləˈkeɪʃənz/

For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villareal.

/fər viː əʊ ˈeɪ ˈspeʃəl ˈɪŋglɪʃ aɪm ˈælɪks (Villareal)/

To read and listen to more stories about technology and for English teaching
activities, go to voaspecialenglish.com.
/tuː riːd ænd ˈlɪsən tuː mɔːr ˈstɔːriːz əˈbaʊt tekˈnɑːləʤiː ænd fər ˈɪŋglɪʃ ˈtiːʧɪŋ
ækˈtɪvɪtiːz goʊ tuː (voaspecialenglishcom)/

We're on Facebook, Twitter and iTunes at VOA Learning English.

/wiːr ɑːn feɪs bʊk ˈtwɪtər ænd aɪ tuːnz ət viː əʊ ˈeɪ ˈlɜːrnɪŋ ˈɪŋglɪʃ/