Solar Hot Water
Solar energy offers homeowners a greener, cheaper and more efficient means to heating your water.
Solarsense provide two residential solar water heating solutions including solar thermal and solar PV technologies. Both offer a variety of benefits for homeowners and our experts are on hand to talk you through your options and identify the right technologies for your particular home. Arrange a free quote.
Solar thermal water heating for homes
A solar thermal system typically consists of solar collectors (evacuated tubes or flat plate collectors), a pump, and a twin coil hot water cylinder which acts as a thermal store.
Our residential solar thermal systems are manufactured in the UK and specifically designed for Northern European climates. The vacuum inside each tube provides perfect insulation from external conditions, meaning that the system produces hot water throughout the year regardless of temperature or wind chill.
A correctly sized solar thermal system will provide around 70% of annual domestic hot water demand and can assist underfloor heating and swimming pools if specified for this demand.
Solar thermal and the Renewable Heat Incentive
Solar thermal systems are eligible for the Governments residential renewable heat incentive (RHI). If you join the scheme you will benefit from quarterly cash payments for the amount of renewable heat your system produces. RHI payments were increased in September 2017, returning over 33% more on tariff payments – this increase in real terms means that the subsidy is in many cases enough to cover the cost of the installation.
Solar PV water heating for homes
If you own a solar PV system, it is probable that 50% or more of the electricity you generate will be exported to the National grid. With a lack of feed-in tariffs it’s more important than ever to “self-consume” as much of the on-site generated energy as possible.
If you have a hot water tank with an immersion installed in your home, you can use the excess energy generated by your solar panels to heat your water. Every unit of power used to heat your water in this way reduces imported energy by the same amount resulting in a significant saving in imported energy costs.
The Apollo Gem
Solarsense specify and install Te Apollo GEM, an innovative solar energy management product that will use all the surplus power generated by your PV system to produce hot water for your home.
The smart technology system will work with any solar PV system and uses a standard immersion heater to produce free hot water. The system is cheap, simple to install and will not affect your feed-in tariff payments if retro-fitted.
BENEFITS AT A GLANCE
How can solar hot water benefit my home?
Reduced energy bills
Sunlight is free, so once you’ve paid for the initial installation your hot water costs will be reduced dramatically
Lower carbon footprint
Solar hot water is a green, renewable heating system capable of reducing your emissions and saving the environment
Generate income
Receive quarterly cash payments for seven years from the government when installing solar thermal technologies
Hot water throughout the year
A correctly sized solar thermal system will provide around 70% of annual domestic hot water demand
Maximise self-consumption
Smart technologies allow you to use the excess energy generated by your solar panels to heat your water for free, saving more on your bills
Low maintenance
Solar water heating systems come with a ten-year warranty as standard and require little maintenance over the lifetime of a system
Everything you need to make an informed decision
How does solar thermal work?
Sunlight falling on each tube is collected as heat by the copper plate. The tubes can be rotated to put the plate at the best angle to catch the sun. Inside each tube, mounted on the plate is a copper tube which screws into the manifold. The copper tube contains alcohol which conducts heat from the copper to the water in the manifold above. The solar thermal system heats the water in the cylinder via one heating coil. This means it can easily be used in conjunction with a traditional boiler or immersion heater, for occasions when the solar thermal is not producing hot water, e.g. during the night.
How efficient is solar thermal?
Our solar thermal evacuated tube heat collectors are manufactured in the UK and specifically designed for Northern European climates. The vacuum inside each tube provides perfect insulation from external conditions, meaning that the system produces hot water throughout the year regardless of temperature or wind chill. A correctly sized solar thermal system will provide around 70% of annual domestic hot water demand and can assist underfloor heating and swimming pools if specified for this demand. Solarsense have been working with world leading vacuum tube manufacturers Thermomax (now part of Kingspan Renewables) since the mid-1990’s.
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