Solar Thermal Energy:

Solar Thermal Hot Water is the most commonly used renewable energy in the UK, with typically 50%-60% savings on a well designed basic system.  Modern solar systems absorb diffused radiation as well as direct sunlight to allow solar gain even on cloudy days. Throughout the year solar hot water production can range from 10% midwinter to 100% on a summer’s day. At PowerNaturally, we use sophisticated ‘T.Sol’ design software to match your system to your specific requirements.

Evacuated tubes are highly efficient, usually smaller and lighter, and ‘on-roof’ mounted. The tubes can be rotated up to 20 degrees to maximise the solar gain. Flat panels in various shapes, sizes and colours are often favoured for their appearance and easy integration. They can be mounted ‘on-roof’ (on brackets above tiles) or ‘in-roof’ with flashing kits provided, giving an appearance similar to a roof-light.

There are many different solar applications, from hot water production to swimming pool heating, through to supplementing other forms of energy to assist in fully integrated heating systems.

Ideal Installation Conditions:

Although solar thermal and solar photovoltaic technologies produce very different types of energy their recommended installation conditions have similarities. The ideal installation is: ·Best practice is to install the panels at a pitched angle of 30 degrees. Any angle above 10 degrees will be sufficient for the panels to self clean but performance will drop. The individual tubes on evacuated tube panels can be rotated, this means that this can help when mounting your panels in a non-standard fashion (this would need to be discussed with our technical team). ·Installed on a south facing roof. East/west roofs can be used but your solar gain will drop. ·Solar Thermal panels can be installed in either landscape or portrait, please discuss your requirements with our team.

The Difference Between Solar Thermal and Solar PV:

As previously mentioned, Solar Panel PV systems use energy from the sun to generate electricity with roof mounted modules. Solar Thermal employs roof mounted collectors to absorb energy from the sun. These collectors are usually connected to the lower coil of a twin-coil cylinder via a sealed circuit containing a special glycol/water solution. The pump in the system circulates the heated fluid from the collector to the cylinder, where the stored water is heated for use in the home.