Solar Thermal
Solar thermal heating systems use the energy from the Sun to raise the temperature of a body of water in your hot water cylinder or storage tank in order to offset the amount of work required from an existing AGA or gas boiler.
Our solar thermal systems are roof mounted collectors in which a heat-transfer fluid is heated by the sun. The fluid is used to raise the temperature of the water that is stored in either a separate hot water cylinder or a twin coil hot water cylinder inside the building. The mixture of water and glycol in the fluid gives it beneficial properties such as a much lower freezing temperature and higher boiling temperature than pure water. This means that the system can be used all year round and will always contribute to the hot water requirements of the building.
During winter the systems perform less well due to the limited solar resource available. Nevertheless, the winter contribution for solar thermal can still be substantial, ensuring savings on your winter fuel bills. It takes the same amount of energy to increase the temperature of water all year round, so solar thermal can make use of the abundant solar energy in the summer and fully heat the tank, or provide assistance to your existing boiler in the winter.
Our systems are proven to work successfully in all parts of the UK; wherever there is daylight. Our solar thermal systems require any sort of lighting conditions to function. They will perform better on bright sunny days without a cloud in the sky, but will also perform to near optimum standards in diffuse or overcast conditions.
Solar Thermal Collectors
We offer two types of collectors used for solar water heating applications. Flat plate collectors and evacuated tube collectors:
Flat plate collectors are cheaper, more rigid and are the predominant type used in domestic systems worldwide. Their efficiency in converting energy in the sun to useful heat in the water is less than that of evacuated tube.
Evacuated-tube collectors are more efficient than flat plate collectors because their tubular design minimises the area exposed to the elements, meaning that less heat is lost off their surface. The tube incorporates a vacuum between the liquid-filled core and the glass covering. This further prevents loss of heat to the air. They are consequently slightly more expensive than the flat plate design.
Please feel free to get in contact with us by email or call 0845 189 9894 to discuss any of your requirements.
