Thermal Solar Panels on a House (1 Viewer)

[canopus]

Anyone got thermal panels, ie for hot water, fitted on their property. Interested in any pros, cons.

 

[jongood]

Anyone got thermal panels, ie for hot water, fitted on their property. Interested in any pros, cons.

I havent but I do have a roof full of very discrete PV's. My system is different because it was built from the start around electric and solar

but I'm under the impression that not many people are fitting solar thermal these days because efficiency was never particularly good and if you have PV's a small cheap device detects when you have excess solar and uses it to operate an immersion heater.

 

[The Coops]

M.I.L has them can't get anyone to service them and they are ok (ish) for about three months of the year get solar panels instead and heat off those via immersion heater

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[Lenny HB]

I remember reading an article about them they reckoned it takes about 100 years to get your money back.

 

[Oscar]

We've got 16 PV panels, fitted 8 years ago, and have found them very cost effective, we have a solar I-boost which detects excess solar & heats the hot water. We have not used our immersion heater since having solar fitted. Should break even on the original outlay in another 3 years on the feedback tariff we've received, and our electric usage is less, especially when used when you're generating.
The panels are fitted on our SE facing roof.

 

[Wh05apk]

We've got 16 PV panels, fitted 8 years ago, and have found them very cost effective, we have a solar I-boost which detects excess solar & heats the hot water. We have not used our immersion heater since having solar fitted. Should break even on the original outlay in another 3 years on the feedback tariff we've received, and our electric usage is less, especially when used when you're generating

Exactly the same system as us, and also same time 8 years.

We are lucky having a perfectly angled roof, 45degrees due south, so have broken even already, and estimate we save about £1,000 a year between feed in tariff and reduced buying in, the solar I boost works very well, and can heat the water tank fully by about 11am.

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[Steve and Denise]

Yes Ken we have solar thermal fitted on our roof we fitted it when we built our bungalow back in 2008, there was no real alternative photovoltaic to speak of then, as we installed it when building the extra cost was not that much.
It works along with a gas boiler all auto but normally we put the boiler on stand by around the end of March till the end of September there is always enough hot water for showers every day the only maintenance it’s had was a fluid change at 10years it is a Viessmann system.
You also need a twin coil cylinder to run solar and gas properly.
I would think it’s far to heavy for your Motorhome roof
Would I retro fit it to a house probably not, you are welcome to come and take a look when your passing.

 

[CazPaul]

We have a twin coil cylinder as required a new cylinder anyway and there wasn’t much price difference.

Applied a year ago for the green homes grant scheme for solar thermal, they have p1ssed us around so much with delays, no contact, wrong paperwork they said, further quote, installer not registered they said(Which we proved he was)
Then a few weeks ago they finally said your voucher is waiting to be issued you will hear and get it in about 1 week.

Lovely we thought

2 days later the scheme got scrapped, what a total utter complete joke. They couldn’t run a good drink up in a brewery to coin that phrase without swearing.

Mess em around for over a year and then scrap it as the voucher is about to be issued, you couldn’t make it chuffing up.

Can’t get in touch with them now.

I wouldn’t pay it myself though 5 grand quote to save about £60 a year you would have to be ill to pay yourself about 85 years to break even

 

[Steve and Denise]

We have a twin coil cylinder as required a new cylinder anyway and there wasn’t much price difference.

Applied a year ago for the green homes grant scheme for solar thermal, they have p1ssed us around so much with delays, no contact, wrong paperwork they said, further quote, installer not registered they said(Which we proved he was)
Then a few weeks ago they finally said your voucher is waiting to be issued you will hear and get it in about 1 week.

Lovely we thought

2 days later the scheme got scrapped, what a total utter complete joke. They couldn’t run a good drink up in a brewery to coin that phrase without swearing.

Mess em around for over a year and then scrap it as the voucher is about to be issued, you couldn’t make it chuffing up.

Can’t get in touch with them now.

I wouldn’t pay it myself though 5 grand quote to save about £60 a year you would have to be ill to pay yourself about 85 years to break even

Paul you have to consider the environment it’s not all about cost! Or so Greta would say
Also a grant says nothing about how good the system the system is, I assume it was a government grant

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[Gaston aires]

We had it on the roof in Spain. As you can imagine on the Costa del sol it was great. Not so sure about here in the U.K.

 

[CazPaul]

Paul you have to consider the environment it’s not all about cost! Or so Greta would say
Also a grant says nothing about how good the system the system is, I assume it was a government grant

Yes the government green homes joke, sorry I mean grant.

 

[Andrew J]

I’ve lived off grid for around 7 years. Circa 3k pv panels. I fitted a solartwin system which uses flexible pipes . It’s basically a ‘hot box’ on the roof with a solar 12v pump , this is connected directly to the hot water tank.
The problem I saw with solar thermal units was : too many bits to go wrong, would need another tank, need to add antifreeze.
The solartwin system works well ,flexible pipework means no need for antifreeze. Struggles a bit on those days when it’s not cold enough to light the stove, but it’s cloudy !
If I did it again? More pv and divert excess power to immersion.

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[jongood]

Paul you have to consider the environment it’s not all about cost! Or so Greta would say
Also a grant says nothing about how good the system the system is, I assume it was a government grant

Works for me - She never fails to get me to turn the TV off and save the energy I would have wasted watching her

pp
Jeremy Clarkson

 

[Kirsten]

Our roof has limited sunlight - we have one thermal solar panel - installed 8 years ago. Works really well- we rarely have the water heater on in summer or autumn but despite a concerted effort ( written to solar panel manufacturers/ surfed net thoroughly/ phoned evert solar panel installer I could) we can’t get anyone to service it. It has pipes of pink heat exchange liquid running to the cylinder and these developed a slight leak, we were given a container of the liquid to top up/ replace it if needed and asking our central heating boiler company to do this 3 years ago we were astonished to learn the system seems to be unfathomable an un serviceable.

 

[Steve and Denise]

Our roof has limited sunlight - we have one thermal solar panel - installed 8 years ago. Works really well- we rarely have the water heater on in summer or autumn but despite a concerted effort ( written to solar panel manufacturers/ surfed net thoroughly/ phoned evert solar panel installer I could) we can’t get anyone to service it. It has pipes of pink heat exchange liquid running to the cylinder and these developed a slight leak, we were given a container of the liquid to top up/ replace it if needed and asking our central heating boiler company to do this 3 years ago we were astonished to learn the system seems to be unfathomable an un serviceable.

Ours is a Viessmann system they have a national coverage of engineers, but I’m sure if you contact your local plumbing supplier they will tell you of someone local.

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[Kirsten]

Ours is a Viessmann system they have a national coverage of engineers, but I’m sure if you contact your local plumbing supplier they will tell you of someone local.

Thank you but no help there. Only possible lead I had was one company in London who won’t travel this far ...builders fitted ours when we were having extensive work done with help from someone qualified ( apparently!) hot water cylinder is one make but the pipes/ panel another and we never had the paperwork from the builders ... think ours is a Heathrobinson system

 

[Steve and Denise]

This is our set up

 

[canopus]

How long has it been installed Steve? They say the heat transfer liquid should be changed every 5 years ie like Alde heating.

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[Steve and Denise]

I think if we had major problems after 13 years and solar technology has moved on a lot I would possibly remove it and go for photovoltaic with emersion depending on cost, but when you look abroad every roof has solar thermal, but it is a bit warmer over there.

 

[Steve and Denise]

We had ours changed at ten years the whole system is copper brass and stainless, ours has a collector on the roof like a manifold and the end of the copper rods (in glass tubes) has a bulb shape that is a slide fit into the manifold a bit like a heat exchanger, the fluid is in the heat exchanger and circulates through the coil in the cylinder around 7ltrs per minute from memory.

 

[canopus]

Worcester Bosch now make a solar thermal system, as do quite a few others manufacturers. Just wonder if they get government incentives to flog the 'green' carbon neutral stuff.
There are four pairs of council owned, 60's built semi bungalows just down the road from us. The council (subcontractors) have just a month ago ripped all the antiquated electric heaters out, and refitted with Air Source heat pump, new cylinder and radiatiors. Talking to one old chap and he says they've never been as warm.

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[ChrisSue]

Ours are, effectively, rented. Work brilliantly. We turn the hot tub down at night then back up in the morning and the water heats for free.

 

[canopus]

We had ours changed at ten years the whole system is copper brass and stainless, ours has a collector on the roof like a manifold and the end of the copper rods (in glass tubes) has a bulb shape that is a slide fit into the manifold a bit like a heat exchanger, the fluid is in the heat exchanger and circulates through the coil in the cylinder around 7ltrs per minute from memory.

Hard to imagine you once owned an Autotrail Steve,

 

[Steve and Denise]

Worcester Bosch now make a solar thermal system, as do quite a few others manufacturers. Just wonder if they get government incentives to flog the 'green' carbon neutral stuff.
There are four pairs of council owned, 60's built semi bungalows just down the road from us. The council have just a month ago ripped all the antiquated electric heaters out, and refitted with Air Source heat pump, new cylinder and radiatiors. Talking to one old chap and he says they've never been as warm.

I was talking to the guy who services our gas boilers and he was telling me that their company have just started replacing all of the air source heat pumps on a 6 year old housing estate due to upgrade 6 YEARS OLD seems to me there is more carbon foot print making these carbon nuetral devices or basically companies making a lot of money from talking b********s

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[Steve and Denise]

Hard to imagine you once owned an Autotrail Steve,

Meeeeeooooowww!

 

[canopus]

We're on oil so somewhat restricted on heating appliances.

 

[Steve and Denise]

All I can say is ours has been good it would have been better had someone else paid for it

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[dabhand]

This is our set upView attachment 483585View attachment 483586View attachment 483587

Are you on a bore hole water system Steve? That set up with the vacuum tank looks very similar to ours?

 

[canopus]

Youre up early Simon

 

[canopus]

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