What do you think to solar hot water systems?

[so-solar]

Hi Guys

A little bit of market research!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very interested to what the people of the uk think of 'Solar Hot Water systems'

I am in installer but i have had very mixed reactions from the general public when i am selling the system!

Please leave me some feedback to what you think of the solar hot water system!

Thankyou for your help!

Paul

 

[jpm]

Hi Guys

A little bit of market research!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very interested to what the people of the uk think of 'Solar Hot Water systems'

I am in installer but i have had very mixed reactions from the general public when i am selling the system!

Please leave me some feedback to what you think of the solar hot water system!

Thankyou for your help!

Paul

pls pm your number

 

[so-solar]

Hi
jpm
I have sent my number!

 

[himac]

Evening Paul,

I have something you might want to work with solar when the suns not about.himac

 

[secret squirrel]

As your looking for a bit of market research, I will give you my personal opinion and I'm not trying to be awkward or argumentative.

I would not have solar hot water, the cost is one thing. It takes so long to re-coup the initial cost. I may have sold the house by the time I get close to recovering my money.

Apparently (not sure), the environmental impact of making the panels is a problem in itself.

Do the cells in the panels die/burn out over time?

I am not against renewable energy etc. I just think solar has got a way to go before it is viable for the masses.

 

[newbie1]

allright if you live in cyprus and yes i know the new panels can work when the sun isnt out but again with the cost of install it will take a shedload of time to recoup the savings

 

[himac]

Hi Newbie1,what is the cost you are thinking of.himac

 

[newbie1]

well with a saving of say we say 20gbp per month so 240.00 a year whats a average install price 3000.00 so ten years to recoup

 

[himac]

Ok if you are going to pay someone a shed load to fit it, but if you fit it yourself and get a good deal on your panels etc, the whole job might only cost you say £1100.00.

 

[newbie1]

i hate wasps bees spiders and heights and nothing on gods green earth would get me anywhere above the fascia and thats pushing it

 

[himac]

newbie1,got your point.I run solar as a back up to ashp for DHW my panels are on a stand on the ground. I do tend to agree with you if you cant fit it yourself.

 

[secret squirrel]

I recently met with a company who install solar panels, they needed a plumber or 3 on board to fit the new cylinders, They quoted as little as £4k for a small install but probably closer to £6.5k.

To me thats ludicrous money...........

 

[himac]

Hi secret squirrel, that is a stupid amount of money to pay for solar, I know allot of the double glazing lot are now trying to push it and they will for sure be charging a fortune. The claim that you can save 2/3rds of your DHW costs are wrong by a long margin.

 

[newbie1]

companies are jumping on the save the planet bandwagon

 

[secret squirrel]

himac,

I just re-read my post and I didn't mention a double glazing company but having said that your right. It was a double glazing company......

 

[alph250]

Well about 8 months ago i was asked to do an options study for a cricket pavillion which needed new plant equipment. it had 13 showers across 4 changing rooms, part of the options study was to look at a re-newable source such as solar.

After i worked out the maths the solar fraction was 0.85 mid summer on a cloudless day, but after a long winded look taking the whole year into consideration it works out to be an average 35% efficient when working which was around 105 days per annum which frankly is cr*p!

Not only that the solar system becomes slave to the primary source (in this case a hamworthy variheat and a powerstock calorifier). so the question should be is whether you would like an additional installation of solar to assist in the heating. Then theres payback, The life of the installation say 15 years, the payback period about 22.5 years, so whilst yes it would fullfill part L obligations and make the company look good, in realistic terms it just didnt work out.

As of now im yet to see cost proven installation. Unless you have some parameters such as alot of storage and not much draw off (which goes against L8) or perhaps if costs came right down, At present the saving against the initial capital expenditure is rubbish! but over time i think it may become more appealing.

 

[Jimbob]

Iv been involved on loads of solar job... I really dont think it gets its money back. But as energy costs rise, and installations become more efficient this could change. People should use the money to reduce energy loses in a home.

I have a friend with a large indoor swimming pool, and im in 2 minds as to whever it would be worth fitting onto that system.

 

[so-solar]

Thanks for the comments!

I have now been advised that in the very near future it is going to become a legislation that you cannot pre-heat water going to a combi boiler! as alot of the solar systems do!

This will cripple the big solar installers as they charge about 7 grand for this system!

I really hope that the general public will realise that this solar installation is not at all efficient, When installed by a big firm making huge profits!

A company based in bournemouth are chargiong £5500 for a straight forward A system, this is installed in 1 day. This exact system can be installed by a small solar firm for £2500 surely these big firms are classed as thieves?

If anybody is thinking of going green, please shop around and look at the cost of the solar kit!

 

[david williams]

solar hot water systems,most of the national firms installing this are actualy marketing companies who employ plumbers.if you can get it installed for under £3000 you have a chance of recouping your investment but if not under £3000 i would ask any installer to prove pay back claims.most of these companies have very poor after sales services, most tell you no maintenance is needed.i have installed over 6 hundred solar systems,from standerd vented ,unvented,and worst of all combi assist.combi assist is a total waste of money, most instalations of this kind heat the water in a preheat cylinder but if it does not heat above 60 degrees it is then cooled down to be fed to the boiler because most combi boilers can not take incoming mains temperature above 25 degrees.i worked for solar home energy for three years till they went down the tubes,started up again shortly after under a new name.they employed anyone they could get,took on quite a few fast track plumbers mainly because they were not intrested in good workmanship only the cheque at the end of the day.you only got one day to install the system.so for new plumbers this was very hard massive turnover of plumbers.as time goes on these systems will improve and become more efficient.but who knows what the future holds in store for us plumbers.i have seen a national emergency company say they can train you to be a plumber in 6 weeks then you can go out and earn vast sums of money.its about time the plumbing industry was properly regulated.

 

[david williams]

£3000 install ten years money back ,what about maintaining it,glycol deteriates should be drained and flushed then refilled new glycol avarage cost £200 to£250 . every three years.,in kent how long will cylinder last without water softner most do not have one.pumps in pump station how long lasting ? all plumbing needs maintenance this is no different.i remember when we first started using combi boilers saw on back of plumbers van" fit a combi today ensure work tomorrow"

 

[unguided1]

I personally am not that impressed with solartherm in the uk, reps appear to sell it as the be all and end all. I have now done a number of installations, and I do not recommend solar to any of my customers if any thing I would steer my customers away from it. Dont even think about getting me started on PV, another complete waste of money fad that these companies are trying to flog.
regards
Mike

 

[woodbine]

well with a saving of say we say 20gbp per month so 240.00 a year whats a average install price 3000.00 so ten years to recoup

Ten years is a long time to get your money back! How long do the panels last? (I'm hoping that the answer isn't ten years!!)

 

[solarsavings]

Uhm, we could be talking here about air/ground source heat pumps too as well as solar.
There are always going to be those that favour one system over another, I get people complaining almost every week about the true running cost of their heat pump and wanting to add solar to the system in an attempt to reduce bills. The often quoted cop is not borne out in the real world.

Of all the renewable's solar thermal will payback if that's what your looking for providing, you don't go to one of the large ex double glazing sales companies.

A British made Thermomax solar thermal system with 200l vented cylinder can be installed for around £3000.00p. There should be very little maintenance if installed correctly. You should get a similar sized Chinese system installed for around £2500.00p.

My own system heats all of our water from March_ October even in the worst of the recent weather we have had a full cylinder(250l) heated above 60c when we arrive home from work. We heat with oil so savings are better than most. I installed system myself just over five years ago it has paid for itself already. It has had no maintenance at all in that time.

There are Thermomax system in surrounding villages here that were installed more than 20 years ago.

 

[david williams]

no one says it does not work,other than combi assist,but it does require maintenance,and at £6000 to£8000 that some of these companies charge you will not get your money back

 

[solarsavings]

no one says it does not work,other than combi assist,but it does require maintenance,and at £6000 to£8000 that some of these companies charge you will not get your money back

I agree with you if you over pay it wont re-pay. I do have few self installed combi system where they have saved, one in Suffolk claims to have saved £184 in his first year. he paid £1100.00p for an unvented cylinder kit.