Solar Panels

Solar panel water heating systems are reliable
and quickly fitted and are a surprisingly
affordable way of heating hot water. You also
have the satisfaction of knowing that your hot
water has been produced by environmentally
friendly means.

How it works

Solar water heating systems have two main parts: a solar
panel / collector and a hot water storage cylinder. Typically,
a flat plate collector is mounted on a south facing roof. A
collector is made up of a powder coated aluminium frame
with a 3.2 mm solar toughened glass cover on top. This
glass contains less iron than normal glass and this
protects it against the strongest of hailstorms and
resultant damage.

Sunlight passes through the solar panels glazing and
strikes a copper absorber plate. This plate has been spray
painted with a titanium and quartz paint called TinOx. This
causes the absorbtion of solar radiation to increase to 95%
and it reduces the emissions to 4%. This is a real degree of
efficiency of 80.2 % of the sun’s energy. There are 10
8mm copper pipes welded to this copper plate so when
the radiation hits the plate it heats up, changing solar
energy into heat energy. The heat is transferred to liquid
passing through pipes attached to the absorber plate. To
move the heated fluid between the solar panel and the
storage cylinder a pump is used.

Payback

The payback period of a solar panel water heating system
will vary depending on the cost of the fuel you are
replacing and the amount of hot water you consume. A
typical correctly installed solar panel system has a
payback period of between 7 and 15 years and a little
maintainace is nessassary. Most systems are run by
electrically powered pumps, which will cost a small
amount to run each year.

The solar panels have a 10 year warranty and their
lifetime is about 30 years.