Solar Hot Water

Solar Hot Water (SHW) systems use energy from the sun to warm your hot water and work alongside your conventional water heater. The technology is well developed, with two major types being used for general domestic & commercial water heating. These are either, the evacuated tube type or flat plate collector.  Our  Solar  energy systems will provide between 40-70% of your hot water needs, 40% in winter and 70% in summer, averaging out throughout the year at 55%. Thus saving you money, aswell as reducing CO2 emissions by between 0.4-0.75 tonnes per year.

Although we install all types of Solar systems we prefer to install Sundwel Solar Panels, as adjacent, as these are made at the Sundwel factory in Tyne & Wear, right here in the North East, therefore Sustaining the local economy.

Whilst cutting down carbon emissions, caused by transporting panels.

This is a large 22 panel system, installed in a 22 apartment care home in Blyth. The system, again uses Sundwel panels and provides a very aesthetically pleasing system, which helps the tenants of this home reduce their energy bills for hot water by approximately 50%.

Teesdale District Council chose to use Sundwel Solar panels to provide 30% of the energy required to heat the leisure centre pool at Barnard Castle.

Solar energy collected in the solar thermal panels is transferred to the pool via a large heat exchanger positioned in the filtration loop ahead of the existing heat exchanger. When the temperature of the pool is over 29°C excess energy from the solar system is transferred into a large purpose designed hot water cylinder that pre-heats water for use in the showers and wash basins, saving more money and CO2.

Typical system layout, for a fully pressured  Solar Hot Water system.

The system uses solar energy collected in the  solar panels (1), which is passed to the pumping station (5) by the flow pipe (2) from the solar panel.

This then flows to the solar coil (11) in the twin coil solar cylinder where it transfers the energy to the water in the cylinder. It then flows back to the pumping station via the cold return pipes (12) and (3).

To ensure the system works correctly and safely in periods of prolonged sunshine, the system has an expansion vessel (9) and a pressure relief valve (6), which can either flow to drain or be collected in a container.