Solar Thermal Heating

There are three types of solar energy that can be used for domestic or commercial properties:

Solar thermal (water heating) is the most common way of using solar energy, and the one that AD Heating can assist with. The idea is to use solar energy to pre-heat cold mains water so that less gas, oil or electricity is needed to supply your hot water needs. This is usually achieved by putting a panels on your roof, facing roughly south (if you can’t get the direct angle you may need extra panels to compensate). An anti-freeze mixture is pumped through the panels and the heat collected is passed via a heat exchange coil in a hot water cylinder or thermal store.

The other two types are described here, but are not within our scope of supply:

Solar electricity systems capture the sun's energy using photovoltaic (PV) cells. The cells convert the sunlight into electricity, which can be used to run appliances and lighting.
Passive solar heating uses architectural design and building methods to create a building that maximises heat and light from the sun so that there is little need for any additional heating source.

When it comes to solar thermal collectors there are two main options:

Flat Plate Collectors - These are insulated boxes that have a dark absorption plate, and usually attach to copper pipes (like a radiator in reverse).
Evacuated Tube Collectors - These are rows of double-walled transparent glass tubes with a vacuum in-between. This makes this type of panel more efficient based on the amount of surface area than an equivalent size flat panel. Some models also have a mirror-backing to increase the available surface area for collecting the suns radiation. Due to its increased efficiency an evacuated tube system will take up less space on your roof. The downside to evacuated tubes is that they must be mounted on top of the roof, whereas flat panels can be mounted in the roof.
There is also a third hybrid option - this looks like a standard flat panel, but has curved reflectors inside, and a vacuum mechanism – which gives additional protection against heat loss than a standard flat panel.

AD Heating will recommend the most appropriate solar thermal panels for your property and works with a range of different manufacturers:

Click the picture of each solar panel for more details...

Evacuated Tube Panel

Ritter - IVT

Standard Flat Panel

SOLARFOCUS Sunnyline

Hybrid Panel

SOLARFOCUS CPC