An Introduction To Solar and Heat Pumps

Solar…we have all heard of it and most of us have given it some thought. Why wouldn’t you…what a great idea to use the sun to produce hot water and to power your house, especially with utility bills consistently increasing.

With any purchase it is important to consider how you are going to use your product to make sure it is going to meet your needs and we want to help by providing you some information to help you with your solar purchase.

When you are making a decision about your solar system you need to consider if you are going to have solar power and/or a solar hot water system. These systems work in different ways and require different types of collectors, they are:

Solar Power (PV)

PV Solar panels comprise of many smaller units called photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic simply means they convert sunlight into electricity. Many cells linked together make up a solar panel.

Solar Hot Water System

(There are two types of collectors, the collectors need to be facing in a northly direction for maximum efficiency)

Flat Panel Collector – Flat panels are made up of an insulated tray style case with a sheet of black solar glass on the top surface. The inside is similar to a car radiator but instead of cooling, The glass collects and traps the heat (like a greenhouse), so the water running through it rises up and transfers to your hot water tank. This is called Thermo spython.
Evacuated tubes are tubes with an inner glass tube providing a vacuum for heat retention. Each tube contains a heat rod which conducts heat and is transferred to the hot water manifold which is then circulated back into your hot water tank.

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If you are planning to have a solar hot water system as well as PV solar you need to consider the amount of roof space you have. With PV solar you will need a professional to size your house according to your energy needs, which will determine the amount of PV panels you will require. This will help you determine if you are able to fit solar panels for a hot water system as well.

So…What do you do if don’t have enough roof space for a solar hot water system?… Or you don’t like look of so many solar panels…what are your other options?

A Sanden Heat pump is a great alternative, this system is as efficient as an electric boosted solar hot water system, only using 0.9kw per hour over a maximum 4 hour heating cycle and if you have PV solar you can set this system up to heat during daylight hours to be fed from your solar PV system. If you don’t have PV solar you can set this system up on off peak or you can simply run this system on straight power and you will still reduce your energy costs.

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We don’t want to overwhelm you with too much information at once but keep posted as we will be posting about some of the great features and benefits of our solar hot water systems next month. If you would like to know more about solar and whether it is suitable for your house you can contact one of our friendly tradesman on our freecall number: 1800 689 919

“The Hot Water Specialists”