Solar Thermal

Installing a solar hot water system is a simple upgrade that homeowners can make to protect themselves from rising energy costs.  A solar hot water system can provide between 50-90% of a households annual domestic hot water FREE from the sun making it one of the most effective ways to save money on your energy bill and also reduce your household’s carbon footprint.  In some instances we can use your existing hot water cylinder, in other cases we will install a twin coil cylinder in its place.

Hot water throughout the year. The system works all year round, though you’ll need to heat the water further with a boiler or immersion heater during the winter months. 

Reduced energy bills. Sunlight is free, so once you’ve paid for the initial installation your hot water costs will be reduced. 

Lower carbon footprint. Solar hot water is a green, renewable heating system and can reduce your carbon dioxide emissions.

• Evacuated tubes 
• Flat plate collectors, which can be fixed on the roof tiles or integrated into the roof.

Larger solar panels can also be arranged to provide some contribution to heating your home as well. However, the amount of heat provided is generally very small and it is not normally considered worthwhile. 

 Is solar water heating right for your home?

Solar water heating systems, or ‘solar thermal’ systems, use free heat from the sun to warm domestic hot water. A conventional boiler or immersion heater can be used to make the water hotter, or to provide hot water when solar energy is unavailable.

Maintenance costs for solar water heating systems are generally very low.  We recommend that a maintenance plan is taken out at the completion of the installation. This will cover periodic checks on pumps, anti-freeze and general pipework / cylinder connections.

• Do you have a sunny place to put solar panels? You’ll need around five square metres of roof space which faces East to West through South and receives direct sunlight for the main part of the day. The panels don’t have to be mounted on a roof however, they can be fixed to a frame on a flat roof or hang from a wall.
• Do you have space for a larger, or an extra, hot water cylinder? If a dedicated solar cylinder is not already installed then you will usually need to replace the existing cylinder, or add a dedicated cylinder with a solar heating coil. 
• Is your current boiler compatible with solar water heating? Most conventional boiler and hot water cylinder systems are compatible with solar water heating. If your boiler is a combination boiler (combi) and you don’t currently have a hot water tank, a solar hot water system may not be compatible.
• Claim Renewable Hear Incentive You will be paid for generating your own heat energy regardless of whether you use it all. There’s a user-friendly calculator available which tells you how much you can earn through this scheme. It can be hundreds of pounds a year!

Solar water heating systems use solar panels, called collectors, fitted to your roof. These collect heat from the sun and use it to heat up water which is stored in a hot water cylinder. A boiler or immersion heater can be used as a back-up to heat the water further to reach the temperature you want.

• Solar thermal panels are mounted on your roof or on the ground using brackets and frames (flat plate or evacuated tubes) 
• Heat transfer fluid - this can be water, ethylene glycol (commonly known as anti-freeze), or a mixture of the two 
• A coil heat exchanger within a water cylinder - this ‘twin coil’ cylinder will replace your existing cylinder and include a backup coil from your existing boiler to provide extra water heating when required 
• A pump circulates the heat transfer fluid between panels and cylinder (the pump is usually powered by mains electricity, but can also be powered by a small photovoltaic cell) 
• Insulated pipes between the panels and the water cylinder - called flow and return piping 
• A system control panel controls the heat transfer fluid pump and provides information on the system’s performance, as well as any faults should one develop 
• A heat flow generation meter, which measures the output of the system - this is necessary in order to claim Renewable Heat Incentive payments