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How it works: Solar Heating

The amount of energy poured onto the Earth by the sun every 15 minutes is equivalent to the world’s electricity needs for a year.

EcoVision solar panels harness the power in both direct and diffused sunlight and convert the energy to heat for the production of hot water.

The collectors, usually on the roof of a building, provide heat to a fluid which is pumped round a coil in a hot water storage tank. This heat exchanger directly transfers the heat to your hot water system where it can be used directly or boosted by an additional heating source such as a heat pump, biomass heater or more conventional emersion heater or boiler.

We offer the two main types of commercially available systems, flat plate and evacuated tube collectors:

  • Flat plate collectors are the simplest and most common form of solar panels, as well as being the least expensive. They consist of an array of pipes connected to an absorber plate which is painted black to increase absorption. Radiation from the sun is absorbed by the plate and pipes, heating up the water flowing through them. Flat plates are slightly less efficient, but are more robust and can be better integrated into a roof.
  • With evacuated tube collectors, the absorber is enclosed in a vacuum to minimise the heat losses from convection and conduction between the absorber and the glazed surface. A refrigerant enclosed in a heat pipe is used to transfer heat. Temperatures of up to 200°C can be reached, with high efficiencies; they can even heat your water when there is no direct sunshine and it’s freezing outside. Whilst evacuated tube collectors are regarded as more efficient, they are considered by many as being unsightly.

For maximum efficiency, solar panels should be mounted on a south facing roof at a 30° angle with the horizontal; and away from trees, surrounding buildings and chimneys.

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