Here you can find out all about solar water heating systems, how they work and the financial benefits you will get from using them. You can also get a solar installation of either solar thermal collectors of PV solar panels from the MCS accredited solar installers that we provide.

Please feel free to browse the site, or for more information contact our friendly and well-informed staff. We are happy to have an informal conversation about any aspect of solar energy or provide you with a free, no obligation quote for a solar installation.

What Are Solar Water Heating Panels?

There are two basic types of solar panels which work in entirely different ways. One provides you with electricity from light, which are the PV (PhotoVoltaic) solar cells, and the other provides hot water for your home. These are the solar water heating panels (aka solar collectors) that we specialise in.

There are various different types of solar thermal collectors available, and different circulation systems that can be used. Before offering you a quote for a solar thermal installation we will first survey your property and your current hot water system before recommending the best solar system for your budget.

The process can get quite complicated, but generally speaking a heat transfer system is used so that as the solar thermal panels are warmed on the roof, they warm a substance which then heats the water for your hot taps and radiators. Alternatively the solar collectors can heat the water directly, but this sometimes leads to problems of freezing in cold weather and difficulties should the system stagnate.

Benefits of Solar Energy

There are a number of benefits from using solar energy to power or heat your home, some of them personal financial advantages and some are broad environmental benefits. In general they are:

• Cut your carbon footprint and help fight pollution and global warming,
• Save money on energy bills,
• Make money with government incentives like the feed in tariff and renewable heat incentive.

Financial Incentives

By now everyone is aware of the great environmental benefits of using renewable energy, as it reduces the demand for energy from fossil fuels. In an attempt to encourage more people to use renewable sources of energy such as solar energy, the government has introduced financial incentives.

The feed in tariff (FiT) applies to the PV solar panels, and pays you for every kilowatt hour of electricity that you produce with your solar cells. The actual amount varies according to your type of installation, but typically people will earn £1,000 a year, translating to around £25,000 over the period that the tariff applies to.

The renewable heat incentive (RHI) applies to the ways of producing heat from renewable sources, including with solar water heating panels, and works in much the same way as the feed in tariff. This will be available for businesses from 2011 and households from 2012. If you get a solar installation of solar thermal panels before it is actually available though, you will still be able to take advantage of it as soon as it comes into effect.