A South African engineering distributor supplies solar-water-heating systems for residential communities.
Solar energy is widely used in the region because of high electricity costs and unstable grid supply.
However, the customer encountered a recurring issue:
Water temperature drops quickly at night, during cloudy weather, or in winter, leading to inconsistent hot-water availability.
They needed a compact, reliable auxiliary heating component that could be built into their existing solar-water-heater design—without complex electronics or maintenance burden.
Their previous backup heating solutions used traditional resistance heaters, which caused several problems:
Risk of overheating and burnout
Required separate thermostats and additional sensors
Higher maintenance costs
Unsuitable for long-term unattended operation
Difficult to standardize for different tank designs
To improve system reliability, the customer needed an auto-regulating heating module that would be safe, simple, and energy-efficient.
Tiancheng supplied a customized PTC heating module specifically designed for integration inside the client’s solar water heater.
Self-regulating temperature behavior
High power when water is cold
Automatically reduces power as temperature rises
No thermostat required
Safe even without water flow (no dry-burn risk)
Compact structure, easy installation
Stable output with excellent aging performance
Long service life
The distributor embedded our PTC module into their water tank as a backup heating element, automatically activating when solar energy is insufficient.
Tiancheng does not design or manufacture the solar heater system—only the internal PTC module.
After integrating Tiancheng’s PTC module, the customer reported:
Stable hot-water temperature during nights, cloudy days, and winter seasons
Reduced electricity consumption, as the module only heats when needed
No overheating incidents
Simplified system design without external thermostats
Lower maintenance workload
Faster standardization and easier installation across their tank models
End users noticed immediate improvement in comfort and reliability, with fewer complaints about “cold water” on low-sunlight days.
30+ years of PTC heater manufacturing experience
Recognized National High-Tech Enterprise
Over 20 patents
Reliable self-regulating performance backed by strong R&D
Customizable power, voltage, temperature, size, and mounting
Fast engineering support for customer integration
This case demonstrates how a simple, safe, and intelligent PTC heating module can significantly enhance the performance of solar-water-heating systems.
For regions like South Africa—where sunlight is abundant but water temperature fluctuates—Tiancheng’s PTC module provides an ideal auxiliary heat source:
Safe
Low-maintenance
Energy-efficient
Long-lasting
Easy to integrate
By supplying only the PTC heating module, Tiancheng helps system manufacturers upgrade reliability and user comfort without changing their existing solar heater design.
