New Site DesignSolar Thermal FAQ
What is solar water heating? Your domestic hot water, the water you use in your sinks and baths at home, can easily be heated by the Sun. All that is needed is a solar collector on the roof of your building, which absorbs radiation from the Sun and turns this into heat. This heat is then transferred to your hot water cylinder to reduce the need for your boiler to burn fossil fuels. Our systems can provide up to 60 - 70% of your annual hot water demand in this way.
How much does a solar thermal system cost? This depends on the specifics of your location, but we suggest from around £3,899 for a basic system. Our consultants will be able to assess your current water heating system and advise on exactly what is needed and provide you with a no-obligation quote.
How long does it take to install? Installations usually take one day, with little disruption to the household, but can take longer for more complicated installations.
How long will I be without water during installation? Typically no more than a few hours.
What about my existing hot water cylinder? We try to avoid, where possible, replacing your cylinder. This helps to keep costs down and minimises disruption to you. It also means less waste going to landfill, and a reduced need to manufacture new goods. We`ll even replace the insulation on your cylinder if it does not meet minimum requirements.
However, if your cylinder is more than 15 years old it may need to be replaced, either due to damage caused throughout its lifetime or even build up of lime scale at the bottom of the cylinder itself.
How much carbon dioxide emissions does solar thermal save? The basic system will save over 0.5 tonnes per year. However this depends on your hot water usage. Larger systems will save you more, as does a greater demand on the hot water system.
What temperature will my solar heated water reach? For a significant proportion of the year, your hot water can easily be heated to over 60° Celsius. During winter, or when this is not possible, your conventional boiler is used to boost the temperature of the cylinder. Safety features prevent the water in your cylinder from becoming too warm when heating outstrips demand.
Is there an issue with systems freezing? No. We install two different types of system - direct water and pressurised glycol. In cold conditions (header temperature < 5 Celsius) the direct water system will operate the pump for a very short time to prevent itself from freezing. The high degree of header insulation should mean that this is a rare occurrence, but when it does happen, heat loss from the cylinder is kept to a minimum. In pressurised glycol systems, the glycol acts as an antifreeze, meaning that unless temperatures get very low, frost damage should not be an issue.
What direction does my roof have to face? We recommend that your roof faces somewhere between South East and South West. We can also install on East-West facing roofs. For this we split the panel area over the two directions and use a special valve to switch each panel on or off to provide the best solar gain.
What are flat plate collectors and evacuated tubes? Flat plate collectors are literally that; flat plates. A flat sheet of specially painted metal faces the Sun, and a loop of thin copper piping is fixed onto the underside of the sheet. This is encased in an insulated box, and glazed to the front in order to make it more efficient and weather proof.
Similarly, evacuated tube systems contain a series of evacuated tubes, each of which behave similar to a Thermos flask. This vacuum prevents any heat trapped within the collector from being lost to the environment thereby making them more efficient. The glass tubes are made from tempered glass so that they will not break, even in moderate hail storms and hurricane force winds.
Will I need planning permission? No, generally you should not need planning permission to have our solar thermal systems installed. However, permission must be sought for buildings which are listed, or are in a conservation area or an area or outstanding natural beauty.
What about maintenance? Maintenance on our solar thermal systems is minimal, but we do recommend a periodic check of the glycol (antifreeze) mixture to ensure its integrity. This should take place every 2 - 5 years and will take an engineer no more than around 30 minutes.
Direct heating systems do not need this maintenance.