Domestic installation

 

The typical installation cost for a domestic system is £3,200 - £4,500 however costs are site-specific. Evacuated tube systems are more advanced in design than flat plate, and so tend to be more expensive.

 

All systems come with a 10 year warranty and require little maintenance.

A 4m2 collection area will provide between 50% and 70% of a typical home’s hot water requirements depending on the quantity of hot water required and the timing of that requirement. The percentage can be increased if:

• Hot water is drawn off during the day, allowing more water to be heated up in the afternoon
• Low flow showers and spray taps are fitted so that less hot water is required
• Showers are taken instead of baths. The system is particularly beneficial for dwellings where residents are at home using hot water during the day, for example, young families or the elderly. Savings from solar water heating are difficult to predict and will in practice depend on how much water the occupants use and at what times they use it.
  
  The Energy Efficiency Commitment Scheme bases savings from solar water heating on an average figure of 454kWh/year saving per m2 of flat plate collector or 582kWh/yr per m2 for an evacuated tube system.Assuming a 4m2 system this would provide a saving in energy use of 1,816kWh/year and 2,328kWh/year respectively for the two systems, 34 to 44% of an average modern house’s space and water heating demand.
  

 

Technical Specification			Price Information			Return on Investment			CO2 Saving
Technology	Footprint	Usable Free Energy Yield kWh/Yr	Gross cost inc VAT @ 5%	Less LCBP Grant	Net Cost	Feed-In Tariff	Annual Cost Saving	Annual Return	Annual CO2 Saving (KG)
Collector Flat Plate	4 m2	1,400	£3,600	£400	£3,200	n/a	£140	4.37%	233
Collector Evacuated Tube	4 m2	1,800	£3,462	£400	£3,062	n/a	£180	5.19%	350
2 Collector Evacuated Tube	6 m2	2,100	£4,360	£400	£3,960	n/a	£210	5.30%	350

 

Maximum Amount of Grant

 

England, Wales & Northern Ireland

Overall maximum of £400 or 30% of the relevant eligible costs, whichever is the lower.

 

Scotland

Grants of 30%, up to £4,000, of the total cost of products and installation are available.

Commercial systems

There can be a large variation in the costs of installation, labour, pipework, fittings etc. for commercial systems that are solely dependent upon site-specific issues. Probably the most important issues are the relative locations of the solar collectors and the hot water storage (obviously the closer together they are the shorter the pipe-runs), the degree of complication in running the pipe-runs from the collectors to the hot water storage (i.e. is there an obvious route for the pipes) and the ease (and costs) of establishing safe working access on the roof area where the collectors are to be mounted. The interface between the solar suppliers/installers and the main contractor can also be a significant factor in determining cost (where the main contractors can add a significant fee for their role in coordinating works). Enviko offer whole project-services to our clients that require he economic, successful installation of such commercial projects, managing the development from cradle to grave.

Large system costs (for installed systems) based on flat plate solar collectors start at around £500 per square metre but can be higher due to factors such as those listed above. The same Energy Efficiency Commitment Scheme base savings, described above, can be applied for commercial systems; an average figure of 454kWh/year saving per m2 of flat plate collector.

 

Please feel free to get in contact with us by email or call 0845 189 9894 to discuss any of your requirements.