Hi I have Solar fitted , and obviously sell them also,
Couple of points,
Solar hot water heating is only really effective from about mid to end of march through to about Oct/Nov, there will be some heating effect available in the winter months but depending on location is unlikely to provide all your hot water needs in the deep winter months, you therefore must ensure that you have a secondary form of HWH for these periods, the usual method is to fit an electric element to boost heat as required, over a year you can expect to reduce Heating water bills by about 50 to 70%.
Grants are available for the installation, but are notoriously difficult to get and require specialist knowledge to wend your way through the system, you would be advised to use a specialist Gestor if you intend to go for a grant, (But do not figure this into your cost forecasts, (well not until its in your pocket!!)). NB fitting the electric heating at the time on installation could nullify your grant !!
Systems available, many and varied, ranging from top of the range units such as Solahart, to chinese imports, be aware to always fit a pressurised system, non pressurized gravity systems may cause problems with hot and cold water balance, particularly if you open a hot tap when someone else is taking a shower,
IE a system that allows you to connect to the cold water supply, without any form of valve control, and therefore the water coming from the system is the same pressure as fed to the system.
The water in general on the CB is harsh and can be very corrosive, ensure that your system has either a stainless, ceramic or similar lined storage tank, it should also have a anti corrode anode fitted.
Capacity, this depends on the house size, but if there are say two adults and two children, the minimum you will get away with will be about 180/200ltrs, and prefrably you should go larger, installing two panels instead of one will increase heating capacity and give you more water when you need, it, particularly advantageous in the winter months.
There are two types of system available, the Split system, IE panels on the roof and tank inside, or compact system which has the tank fitted directly to the panels. The split system,, will require some electrical controls, mainly to pump the thermal fluid from the panels on the roof to the tank in the house, this will drive costs slightly higher, you will have some running costs, and of course the system has to have electrical supply and controls which is additonal items to go wrong.
The positioning of any water heating can be critical if you site it to far away from the point of use, you will use a lot of water waiting for the hot water to come through, and then to top it all when turn the tap off the pipe from your point of use to the heater tank is full of hotwater which will then go cold until the next time you use it. Double trouble, if you are on Deposit water this cost and waste is unacceptable.
The cheaper units offered at what seems a good price, tend to be non pressurized, There are some reasonably priced mid range systems on the market, and you should expect to pay somewhere in the region 1800? to 3000? for a medium to high quality system (1 Panel and 180ltr tank)
Get at least three quotes, and ensure a full site survey is done and you are comfortable about the position and pipework of any installation before you commit.
