Renewable Energy News

Solar Water Heating Panels

Solar water heating panels use the sun's energy to heat hot water for your home. When the water in your roof is hotter than the water in your storage tank a pump is activated and this heat is transferred into your water tank. This type of panel does not generate electricity, click this link to read more about Solar PhotoVoltaic Electricity Panels.

There are two common types of solar collector used in the UK.
- Flat plate collectors
- Evacuated tube collectors

At Intelligent Energy Solutions we offer both types of panel depending on the customers requirements.

Flat plate vs Evacuated tube solar collectors/panels

Evacuated tube solar collectors are typically more efficient than flat plate collectors. This does not necessarily mean that evacuated tubes can produce more hot water just that the panel area can be reduced. Typically you will find that for a flat plate collector area of 4m2, evacuated tubes need approximately 3m2 for the same size hot water tank. With this in mind, the amount of hot water generated throughout the year will be very similar.

An independent study by the DTI compared a number of different types of system and the panel that produced the most hot water was of the flat plate variety.

The cost of the panels are now fairly similar, but some people believe that flat plate solar collectors are more aesthetically pleasing. However, technically the evacuated tubes should perform better than flat plate systems when the ambient temperature is low, i.e. in winter.

So in summary, where roof area is an issue evacuated tubes are the best option. Otherwise, you should consider both evacuated tubes and flat plate collectors.

Intelligent Energy Solutions are happy to fit either type of system as both work very well.

For more information call 01509 891256 or e-mail sales@iesolutions.co.uk.

Labels: Solar-Water-Heating-Panels