Solar Water Heating in the UK REALLY WORKS.
When a system is correctly designed and installed, it will give you 50% to 70% of your hot water each year.
That’s as much as 100% in summer months, and around 10% in winter months. A Solar Water Heating system heats the hot water that comes out of your taps. Your hot water cylinder, that usually resides in your airing cupboard, is heated by solar energy in preference to your other means of heating, such as a gas central heating boiler. When there is not enough solar energy available, the heating of your water will be supplemented automatically by your central heating boiler. So you will continue to enjoy hot water at the same temperature throughout the year.
 installers are experienced and have the relevant BPEC qualification to install solar water heating.
is a member of the Solar Trade Association. The STA imposes a strict professional code of conduct its members - see www.solartradeassociation.org.uk.
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 How does it work?
Sunshine is a form of energy - a very potent one. Whatever you think about our weather, it’s a fact that in the UK each square metre receives from the sun about 1000kWh of energy each year. That’s the same amount of energy used by a 1-kilowatt electric fire left on for 10 hours a day for 100 days. In a solar water heating system, solar energy is collected over 3 to 4 square metres (receiving solar energy equivalent to keeping that electric fire on for 300-400 days) and used to heat water. This gives significant savings on household energy bills, as the solar energy from the system is free.
The key to the performance of the solar water heating system is the collector, or solar panel, that goes on your roof. The collectors are very effective at capturing the energy from the sun. The most advanced collector systems will capture 92% of the solar radiation that falls onto them. This energy is then carried to your hot water cylinder and used to heat the water stored inside the cylinder, i.e. the water that will eventually come out of your hot taps.
A specially designed computerised controller monitors and controls the solar hot water system at all times. Based on the readings from a number of electronic sensors it decides when it is advantageous to run the solar heating, and maximises the gains to be made.
There is a choice of 2 types of collector, or solar panel, that goes on your roof.
Evacuated tube collector. A rack is fitted on top of the roof tiles, onto which is mounted an array of vacuum glass tubes. Typically each collector consists of 10 tubes of 1.5 metres in length.
Flat plate collector. This is the longer-established type of collector in which a flat metal plate sits inside a large flat well-insulated glazed box. They can be fitted either on top of the roof tiles, as with the evacuated tube type, or they can be integrated with the roof tiles, with lead flashings around. The roof-integrated style of installation looks similar to a Velux type roof window.
Both types are highly advanced, and use special glazing materials and selective coatings on the absorber surface to maximise the amount of energy they trap. The most efficient type is the evacuated tube, but the same solar gains can be made from flat plate, simply by fitting a slightly larger size. Some people choose flat plate collectors as they prefer their appearance.
How well does it work?
In a typical year you will get 50-70% of your hot water requirements from your solar water heating system. We will advise you on how to get the most from your system, in order to achieve the higher returns.
Solar water heating systems do not need cloudless days to work. About half of the UK’s solar energy throughout the year is received on cloudy days. This is known as “diffuse radiation”, and it is just as useful for heating water as the direct form. You can test this by feeling the roof of your car on a cloudy day – it’ll probably be very warm.
Solar water heating systems do not need hot days to work. It is possible to collect useful energy for water heating even when there is snow on the ground. This is because the amount of energy captured is more dependent on the amount of solar radiation available than on the surrounding air temperature. The collectors are extremely well insulated so that heat losses on cold days are minimised. Everyone has experienced the warming effect of the sun streaming through a window on a frosty day.
solar water heating systems are safe, effective, reliable, and demand no maintenance or adjustment by the householder.
How much does it cost?
An solar hot water system for a typical 4-person household will be supplied and installed for a fully inclusive price of between £3000 and £4000, depending on the complexity of the installation. A government grant of £400 or more may be available, so the net cost to you of the typical system would be £2600 to £3600.
We are accredited under the UK Government ClearSkies scheme, so we can access the government grant funding. We'd be happy to assist with the paperwork for you to obtain the grant.
What’s in the solar hot water installation package?
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Please call us for a free no-obligation quotation for your solar water heating system.
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