AD Heating Ltd: Solar Hot Water

When it comes to solar 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.

An evacuated tube system will take up less space on your roof – 1m² area of evacuated tube is comparable to 2m² area of flat panel.

(Note: Just to be confusing, there are also some hybrid panels which are flat panels with a vacuum inside – which gives additional protection against heat loss than a standard flat panel, but comes with an additional cost.)

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

- Solarfocus - www.solarfocus.at

- SolarUK - www.solaruk.net

- Ritter - www.rittersolar.de

For the entire solar hot water system, there are two main kinds: active systems, and passive.

Active Solar Hot Water Systems use some kind of pump to move the water through the system, and these systems work really well in colder climates, where there is a danger of freezing temperatures (so this is the type we use in Scotland!)

Passive Solar Hot Water Systems, also called Thermosyphon systems, rely on the natural movements of hot and cold water to move it through the pipes. Warm water always rises, and cold water always sinks, and this natural movement is taken advantage of with this system.

How Much Does A Solar Hot Water System Cost?

The great news here is that solar hot water systems really pay for themselves over time, and it doesn’t take that long. For an average 3-bedroom house we would normally expect to quote a price of around £5,500 dependent on hot water demand.

The UK Government are due to announce a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which should allow installations to claim a return on investment – for more information click here….

Solar panels come with a lot of benefits...

Free Energy - After you’ve made the initial investment to buy and install solar panels, you have the ability to capture all that free energy that’s constantly streaming down the sky from the sun. And as the cost of fossil fuels continue to rise, this adds up to some significant savings over time.

Approximately 25% of a domestic heating bill is for hot water generation - a good solar system will give you 60-70% of you hot water needs throughout the year, therefore your overall saving is between 10-15% of your energy bill.

Security - Having solar panels supplementing your home’s energy use means that you’re depending less on others for your energy needs.

Peace of Mind - The energy you get from your solar panels is completely clean. This means that you’re not putting greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere when you turn on the tap.

For more information on these SolarFocus panels, please click on the picture above to view a pdf...