Install finished for water heat

The Apricus glass tubes have copper innards (which heat up the transfer fluid that flows near the copper ends). While these tubes were on the ground, you could feel the copper ends getting warm (even though it's a cloudy day).
The tubes are lubed and installed into the rooftop array by Steve and Jeremy. The tubes do admittedly look a bit phallic, especially with those rubber caps on the lower ends.
Because our roof has low 4:12 pitch (22 degrees), there's a low-angle kit for near-optimal sunlight (7:12, or 30 degrees). The tube array is positioned away from the upper story (and adjacent PV modules) to minimize shading effects. All 30 tubes are installed. It looks like a rooftop rocket launcher, ready for July 4th!
A new electrical outlet was installed for the pump station (rated a mere 0.8 Amps). The system was charged with fluid flowing even before all the tubes were installed. After air was bled out, the pump runs very quietly. Lastly, seismic safety straps were installed around the tank.
The system uses temperature sensors in the collector array, tank bottom, and tank top so it knows when to activate the pump. Other than doing a fluid pH (acidity) check in a few years, and a normal annual sediment flush as with any tank, there's really nothing else to do.
One last interesting bit is the mixing valve on top of the tank. Sorta like a vehicle thermostat spring, it opens to let in cold water if the hot water is too hot. It will keep the hot water output temperature consistent (whatever you select between about 120 and 140 degrees F), even though there can be big variations within the tank. As a result, you don't waste too-hot water with manual mixing at tap.