Hi Everyone!

[Solar Water Heating Ltd]

Hi everyone!

I introduced myself on the "Introductions" forum yesterday and Paula suggested I should do that here too. My name is Neha and I'm a part of Solar Water Heating Ltd.—a solar water heaters installation company based near Watford that operates all over the UK.

Climate change is a widely discussed subject nowadays and I'm looking around to find out how businesses these days are making efforts to incorporate renewable technologies at their workplace. It would be great to see everybody discuss how companies are doing their bit to reduce carbon emissions and save the planet. We could learn a lot from each other on this forum!

I look forward to chatting with you all! :)

[RayB]

Hi and welcome - great to have another eco-solutions company on the Forum :)

[multilingual]

Welcome to the forum.

Would be interested to know more about solar panels as there is just no real reliable info anywhere on this subject. (Well, none that I can find anyway)

I have looked at the water heating aspect, but that is no good for us because we don't have a storage tank (combi boiler), but I would like to look in to saving electricity.

The front of our house is exactly South facing to within an inch, so our roof would be ideal for this, but the costs seem to outweigh the benefits to me.

Would like to be educated though :)

JB

[andysv1k]

Welcome to the forum.

Would be interested to know more about solar panels as there is just no real reliable info anywhere on this subject. (Well, none that I can find anyway)

I have looked at the water heating aspect, but that is no good for us because we don't have a storage tank (combi boiler), but I would like to look in to saving electricity.

The front of our house is exactly South facing to within an inch, so our roof would be ideal for this, but the costs seem to outweigh the benefits to me.

Would like to be educated though :)

JB

Welcome to the forum SWH, good to have another solar thermal installer on here!

to answer the above, having a combi doesnt necessarily mean that solar water heating isnt for you, it depends on your specific boiler, but there are lots of combi's out there that are quite happy to integrate with solar water heating. You do need to add a cylinder though as you need some way of storing the energy generated by the solar panel.

As for cost to benefits, a few years ago i would have completely agreed with you, and installing solar really didnt make that much financial sense apart from the exceptional case here and there, however over the last 5-10 years, installation costs of solar have come down rapidly as the niche few who were controlling the market have had an influx of competition who dont try to claim its some sort of black magic and charge the earth for their services as a result. Also during this time, energy costs have risen a good deal too, this has meant that solar thermal is now probably the most financially sound of all renewable energy, hence its our primary market and most others too, systems can also have a very long lifespan with very little maintenace needed so ongoing parasitic costs are low also helping to recover investment costs.

What i would say though is shop around, unfortunately there are still a few installers out there that are charging silly money and some that just do a plain bad job! Thankfully there are also many that are good honest people that arnt trying to rip everyone off!

Andy.

[tim124]

i can understand how solar water heating panels are pay back they instalation cost.

From what ive read about electricity generating solar panels it seems that they take way too long to pay back their installation cost.

is that right?

[pickaweb]

Hi,
Welcome to the forums.

[andysv1k]

i can understand how solar water heating panels are pay back they instalation cost.

From what ive read about electricity generating solar panels it seems that they take way too long to pay back their installation cost.

is that right?
Solar PV (electric) have a much lower efficiency than solar water, typically 10-15% as opposed to a solar water system that can achieve efficiencies of up to 80% with the panels themselves operating at over 90% efficiency in some cases.

Solar PV is getting better all the time though, and for applications where water heating is either not required or where it wouldnt prove financially beneficial, solar PV can be a very good worthwhile technology, depending on where you are, it can outperform windturbines. Also as solar PV is getting used on a much larger scale now, pricing is becoming more reasonable.

Personally, i see it as being a little way off yet to being financial viable for the mass market, but it certainly has its place and is a great technology, generally the more you invest in it, the quicker and larger the returns.

Andy.

[Solar Water Heating Ltd]

Welcome to the forum.

Would be interested to know more about solar panels as there is just no real reliable info anywhere on this subject. (Well, none that I can find anyway)

I have looked at the water heating aspect, but that is no good for us because we don't have a storage tank (combi boiler), but I would like to look in to saving electricity.

The front of our house is exactly South facing to within an inch, so our roof would be ideal for this, but the costs seem to outweigh the benefits to me.

Would like to be educated though :)

JB

i can understand how solar water heating panels are pay back they instalation cost.

From what ive read about electricity generating solar panels it seems that they take way too long to pay back their installation cost.

is that right?


Hi JB & Tim!

Sorry for the delay in replying. I’ve been tied up with a few things lately. And thanks to Andy for the welcome and a good reply too!

I would definitely agree with Andy. Just thought that I’d clarify a few things a few things (although you might be aware of these already):

Solar Panels (PV) contain an array of connected solar cells which are used to convert heat energy of the sun into electricity. The solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells, are usually made of silicon or some other semiconductor material that generates electricity when illuminated by sunlight.

A solar water heater panel (or solar thermal panel) makes use of concave mirrors or reflective parabolic surfaces, or flat plates (also known as solar thermal collectors) that concentrate the sun’s rays onto a heat absorbing panel (usually black). This panel contains pipes through which a fluid is circulated, either by thermal convection or by a pump. A solar heating system also comprises a reservoir or cylinder for storing hot water for subsequent use.

Solar Water Heating Ltd. currently deals with installation of solar water heating systems only—so I’m not really sure about the feasibility of photovoltaic solar panels for your house; however, your house is located quite suitably for harnessing solar energy and I would recommend you consider it! You haven’t told me what technology you’re using to heat water currently, but you would definitely save some money by cutting down on your heating costs if you consider solar.

Taking into account the current market rates, solar energy (PV) seems to be a huge investment for households today and is one of the main reasons why people are choosing Solar Thermal Systems. These days, solar thermal systems only cost between £2,500 to £5,000 and government grants usually cover 10% of that cost. However, as Andy’s mentioned earlier, the price of solar energy technologies has fallen significantly over the last few years. If you consider the coal and gas prices today, many manufacturers calculate the payback time to be 8-15 years for solar water heating (with an annual saving between £100 and £300), but this figure doesn’t take into account the rate of increase in fuel prices, and those have been rising rapidly since the last two years (91% Daily Express 28-07-06) and there’s no reason to believe that they will stop this incredible rise. Another significant advantage of solar heating systems is that 50% of the value of the solar panels is added to the value of the house, thereby significantly increasing its resale value. Also, coal and gas appear to be a much cheaper alternative because they externalize many of their costs to society and ecology as a whole in the form pollution, global warming, etc. A much heavier price to pay if you’d ask me!

I think the time has come for us to take into account the cost of fuel not only for us but for the environment as a whole. Renewable technologies are fast catching up and I believe that the decision to use a particular fuel is no longer solely an economical choice but an ethical one too!

Hope this helps!

Neha

[ken_uk]

How long does a typical solar panel on a roof for example last?
How much does their efficiency decrease over the years, is it so many percent per year, or does it take so many years before a drop is noticed?

[andysv1k]

How long does a typical solar panel on a roof for example last?
How much does their efficiency decrease over the years, is it so many percent per year, or does it take so many years before a drop is noticed?

The systems we install use evacuated tube technology, the materials of the collector are stainless steel, glass and silicone rubber all of which are great for use externally, the manufacturers claim a life span of 15-25 years with little to no degredation of performance, the great advantage of evac tubes is if you have a problem with a tube, it can be changed without even draining the system down, you can change a tube for about £25 in ten minutes as oposed to flat plate collectors that often suffer from the glass panel misting and scratching, in this case its throw it away and fit a complete new one.

Andy.