Solar Thermal Domestic Hot Water

Solar water heating systems use heat from the sun to work alongside your conventional water heater. The technology is well developed with a large choice of equipment to suit many applications, solar hot water heating is Europe’s fastest growing renewable technology.

One of the myths that surround this technology is that it is not suited to the UK climate, in fact because it uses solar radiation not just direct sun light you can achieve between 50 – 70% of your annual domestic hot water usage and combined with an efficient back up heat source you can run an extremely efficient heating system for all your hot water demands.

How it works

Solar domestic hot water systems normally use a solar collector fixed to a roof, you need on average around 3 to 4 sq meters of southeast to south west facing roof space which receives direct sunlight. These solar collectors feed heated water into a water storage cylinder that is designed for use with solar systems, the water heated in the cylinder is then used to supply hot water to the home.

The two main types of solar collector systems:

Flat plate systems - which are comprised of an absorber plate with a transparent cover to collect the sun's heat.

Evacuated tube systems - which are comprised of a row of glass tubes that each contain an absorber plate feeding into a manifold which transports the heated fluid.

At Phoenix Renewable Technologies we work with leading brand manufacturers to ensure we offer the most efficient systems to our customers, we offer both flat plate and evacuated tube systems and all roof work is done by professional roofing contractors who specialise in fitting solar equipment.

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