Q1. Can I recieve financial grant assistance?
Q2. How much does solar thermal installation cost?
Q3. What is the payback for solar thermal installation?
Q4. How long is my warranty period?
Q5. Do I need planning permission?
Q6. How long will the installation take?
Q7. Is a solar water heater a viable alternative to gas or electricity?
Q8. Will water be heated on a cloudy day?
Q9. Can I use a solar collector with my existing hot water system?
Q10. Can the Vacuum Tube Solar Heater be mounted on a flat surface?
Q11. Can Solar systems be fitted to an existing house/building?
Q12. What happens if I go away for a period of time?
Q13. Can I heat my house and my hot water with solar?
Q14. What maintenance of the solar water heater and solar collector is required?
Q15. Are Vacuum Tube Collectors more efficient than flat panel collectors?
Q1. Can I recieve financial grant assistance?
YES - Goverment Grants
Q2. How much does solar thermal installation cost?
This depends on your exact requirement but typically between £3000 and £4500 inc VAT& SEI Grant.
Q3. What is the payback for solar thermal installation?
Our systems typically payback around 2-3 times over 25 years of use.
Q4. How long is my warranty period?
We offer a 15 years warranty on the evacuated tube panels. All other components are guaranteed for the manufacturer guarantee period.
Vacuum flasks have a design life of 20 to 25 years, after which the flasks themselves may lose their vacuum. However, these are relatively cheap to replace and are a standard size so they are interchangeable with other brands and can reasonably be expected to be available from numerous suppliers.
Price for a replacement flask is currently €5 ex. VAT.
Q5. Do I need planning permission?
No planning permission is required for systems below 12m2 in surface area - the typical system would come in under 6m2.
Q6. How long will the installation take?
Installation normally takes 2-3 days.
Q7. Is a solar water heater a viable alternative to gas or electricity?
Yes. Our Solar Water Heaters can be used all year round in all regions of Ireland and can provide all of your hot waters needs on clear or intermittently overcast days. If it is particularly overcast or raining, electric or gas automatic backup may be required.
Q8. Will water be heated on a cloudy day?
Yes. Although the efficiency of the solar collector is reduced on overcast days it will still be able to heat water for normal use. If it is a heavily clouded day or raining, then gas or electric backup may be required to maintain water at the required temperature.
Q9. Can I use a solar collector with my existing hot water system?
Normally yes.
Q10. Can the Vacuum Tube Solar Heater be mounted on a flat surface?
Yes. Vacuum tube solar water heaters and solar collectors can be mounted on a flat roof or on the ground by using stainless steel A frame, or by adding extra tubes to account for the lack of angle to the sun.
Q11. Can Solar systems be fitted to an existing house/building?
Yes.
Q12. What happens if I go away for a period of time?
The system will continue automatically.
Q13. Can I heat my house and my hot water with solar?
Most houses in the Ireland need their heat during the winter when solar radiation is at a minimum. This means that to heat your property you need very large collector areas to make a worthwhile contribution to your heating. At the moment this solution is not cost effective for the Irish climate.
Q14. What maintenance of the solar water heater and solar collector is required?
Under normal circumstances no maintenance of the system is required. It is recommended to change the anti-freeze every 5 years. Due to the shape of the tubes regular rainfall and wind should keep the tubes clean. Should a tube become broken it should be replaced. This, however, is an inexpensive and easy job.
Q15. Are Vacuum Tube Collectors more efficient than flat panel collectors? (Flat Plate vs Evacuated tube)
The debate over the relative performances of flat plate and evacuated tube collectors rumbles-on - without either side seemingly able to deliver the 'killer' argument.
In general though, it is probably safe to say that for a given absorber area, evacuated tubes are more likely to maintain their efficiency over a wide range of ambient temperatures and heating requirements. In constantly sunny climates flat plate collectors are more efficient whereas in more cloudy conditions their energy output drops off rapidly in comparison with evacuated tubes.
1. Due to the cylindrical shape of the vacuum tube, the sun is perpendicular to the surface of the glass for most of the day. Flat panel collectors have the disadvantage that the sun is only perpendicular to the collector at noon and thus a proportion of the sunlight striking the surface of the collector is likely to be reflected.
2. As the name suggests, air is evacuated from the vacuum tube to form a vacuum. This greatly reduces conductive and connective heat loss from the interior of the tube. As a result wind and cold temperatures have minimal effect on the efficiency of the evacuated tube collector.
3. Vacuum Tubes are strong, long lasting, and should one be broken, inexpensive and easy to replace.
4. Due to the high efficiency absorption of solar radiation even during overcast conditions, combined with excellent insulation properties of the tube, vacuum tube collectors will heat water all year round (automatic backup may required for particularly overcast or rainy weather).
5. Flat panel solar collector can produce similar heat output to vacuum tube collector, but generally only during warm, still, sunny conditions. When averaged over an entire year, vacuum tube collector heat output per net m2 of collector area is superior to flat panel.
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