A great way to make your house more environmentally friendly

The earth receives more energy from the sun in just one hour than is used by humans in a whole year. Why not use it? This energy comes to us for free, and the technology to capture is is now readily available. Daylight can be used to heat your home's hot water, reducing the need to exploit fossil fuels and thereby reduce the impact you have on the environment.

What is Solar Water Heating?

Solar water heating uses heat from the sun to warm up liquid pumped through a panel on your roof. In the most common kind of system, this liquid then goes through a coil in a hot water cylinder where the heat is transferred to water that comes out of your hot tap. Most systems have a small pump that moves water around the system.

Solar water heating should not be confused with photovoltaic systems which make electricity - see the separate section for information on this topic.

Why go Solar?

• You will be at the forefront of renewable energy developments.
• You help to alleviate global warming as a home system could reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions by as much as ½ of a tonne per year.
• It is a reliable technology already used by over 42,000 homes in Britain.
• Produce 50-70% of your hot water from renewable energy and help protect yourself against future gas price rises.
• Increase the value of your home.
• Solar water heating works even on cloudy days.

Different Systems

A solar water heating system is made up of three main components, solar panels, a plumbing system and a hot water cylinder.

• Solar panels are fitted to your roof and contain collectors. These collectors absorb and retain heat from the sun's rays and transfer this heat to a fluid.
• The plumbing system is made up of simple piping and sometimes a pump, which moves the heated fluid around the system and through the hot water cylinder.
• A hot water cylinder is used to store the hot water that is heated by the fluid being pumped around the system.

Flat plate or evacuated tube collector panels?

Solar panels are made up of either flat plates or evacuated tube collectors to absorb and retain heat from the sun's rays.

• Flat plates are most common and tend to be cheaper but need more surface area than evacuated tube collectors. They use dark absorber plates to retain the heat most effectively. These plates are situated under clear covers.
• Evacuated tube collectors have glass tubes which have air evacuated around the pipes containing the fluid to be heated. This makes evacuated tube collectors more efficient as heat loss by convection is almost totally eliminated. Evacuated tube collectors tend to need less area, but can be more expensive.

Active or Passive?

The fluid in the system can either be moved by a pump or be allowed to flow naturally. In a passive system the water moves by natural convective flows. In an active system the heated fluid is transferred to the hot water cylinder by a pump. Active systems are usually easier to fit but they may be more expensive.

Open or Closed Loop?

The collector panels can either directly heat the water that goes to your taps or they can heat an intermediary fluid, which then transfers heat to the water.
· Open systems heat the hot water directly.
· Closed systems use an intermediary fluid and a heat exchange system. These are most suitable for areas that have periods of freezing weather, as the liquid in the external part of the system contains anti-freeze.

Installation

You can choose to have the solar heater installed by a professional, which will take less than a day. This option benefits from a 5% VAT rate as well as our discount and interest-free loan schemes. See details of our installation programme here. The scheme we run ensures you get a hassle-free service from trained installers. The systems come with a 10-year warranty and require very little maintenance.

Alternatively you can fit the system yourself. This option is charged VAT at 17.5%. It can still work out cheaper (around £500 -£1,500) but will take longer and requires a certain level of skills. You can get training and support from your local solar club. To find your local solar club call 0117 929 9404.