Solar Power at Home

[Bad Company]

Does anybody here know much about this? I had a quote for a roof mounted solar panel system at £5000 less £1400 grant.

Apparently this should provide most of my hot water for the spring and summer months and help a bit during winter.

The big question is - Is it worth it??

 

[Arch]

Well, that depends, I suppose, on how much hot water you get through, how long you're prepared to wait for payback, and how much the environmental aspect matters to you...

I can't help, I'm afraid, but I'd have thought the above vary from household to household...

 

[Night Train]

Do you have the details of the system that would be installed? A lot will depend on what, how and where it will be installed.

It will also depend on the amount of hot water you use and how and when you use it. Either way there will be a solar gain to the system that you need to be able to utilise before it cools down again.

Mostly the solar system is a preheat to raise the temp of the water in the tank. During the summer you can raise it to full temp but that is less during the rest of the year when your gas or electric will make up the difference.

 

[Yellow Fang]

I've seen it quoted for a lot less.

http://www.nohotwaterbills.co.uk/product.html

I saw an advert for them in a Linux magazine of all places. It's almost too good to believe.

 

[marinyork]

No is the probable answer to the OP. I know a few people who had quotes and they had unexplained commissions added in and the numbers made little sense. You're probably best off talking to the local recycling centre/eco place for ideas.

 

[Carwash]

My aunt and uncle have just had panels fitted to their roof to heat their water. Don't know about the financial side, but they are very economical people - he's a mathematics lecturer, so I'm sure they considered the long/short term gains before having it done.

 

[Bad Company]

Do you have the details of the system that would be installed? A lot will depend on what, how and where it will be installed.

Well this is the firm that did the quote http://www.solarworks.co.uk/

We live in a big house - 4 bedrooms, but now there is just the 2 of us in it. Trouble is it an old listed building and we don't really want to move.

 

[Night Train]

Also you need to consider if you want to save money, energy or the environment as they won't necessarily mean the same thing.

 

[Bad Company]

Also you need to consider if you want to save money, energy or the environment as they won't necessarily mean the same thing.

I do wonder about the environmental credentials given the manufacturing cost. It's a bit like the Toyota car which runs partly on battery power but hte environmental impact of manufacturing and eventualy disposing of the batteries is apparently awful.

I guess I would really like to save a bit of all 3 if possible.

 

[Carwash]

Also you need to consider if you want to save money, energy or the environment as they won't necessarily mean the same thing.

Environmental concern was certainly the main motivator for my aunt and uncle - but on a university salary, I doubt they ignored the economic aspect either!

 

[Night Train]

You could ask on the public section of the Architecture, Environment and Energy Studies forum. The knowledgeable people there will let you know if the company is reputable or not. Some of them would also have studied the solar water heating module on their MSc course.

 

[Bad Company]

You could ask on the public section of the Architecture, Environment and Energy Studies forum. The knowledgeable people there will let you know if the company is reputable or not. Some of them would also have studied the solar water heating module on their MSc course.

Excellent idea. Thanks for that.

 

[Night Train]

The evacuated tube collectors are very efficient but also can be very costly. Good German ones are very very costly where as cheap Chinese ones are almost as good but have to be flown/shipped half way around the world to get here.

Flat plate collectors are less efficent but cheaper then the tubes. They can be more effective if the roof slope is around 50deg and already facing south or south west. The tube type, on the other hand, can be angled to face south if your roof doesn't.

Make sure that they don't fit them facing north, it has been done.

 

[Bad Company]

The evacuated tube collectors are very efficient but also can be very costly. Good German ones are very very costly where as cheap Chinese ones are almost as good but have to be flown/shipped half way around the world to get here.

Flat plate collectors are less efficent but cheaper then the tubes. They can be more effective if the roof slope is around 50deg and already facing south or south west. The tube type, on the other hand, can be angled to face south if your roof doesn't.

Make sure that they don't fit them facing north, it has been done.

The quote is for German tubes - the guy told me that the Chinese ones were cheaper but not as good. Yes the sight does face South.

Do you know if these tubes can stand up to say a hit from a hailstone?

 

[Night Train]

They should be ok for your average hailstone but not for local yob stones.

The main difference (apart from a slightly lower efficiency) with Chinese tubes seem to be their method for sealing the tube ends. The German ones use a high tech sealent that preserves the vacuum for the working life of the tube. The Chinese ones use a cork on the same principle as a wine bottle, and some wine can be very old! Also cork is a natural and renewable product though that cannot be said for the Chinese factories.

It is a balance and sometimes one has to make that sort of decision.