Smart Heating recommends that your solar system is serviced annually or at intervals no greater than 18 months. Over time the glycol antifreeze starts to break down in the system and your solar system loses pressure and efficiency.
If the system stagnates at any time which is common, and fluid is lost from the system, the system will not work and the excess heat through conduction on the pipework can burn out the circulating pump, and damage seals and gaskets causing leaks upon refilling etc.
Expansion vessels also need to be checked and set to correct pressure along with controller settings readjusted. Therefore it important to gain optimum performance from your solar system that it is serviced regularly.
This will also ensure that in the cold winter months when it costs most to heat hot water, that the maximum solar gain is achieved. We service both Joule and Kingspan.
A Joule solar system in your house can lower the water heating bills by 70%.
Installing a solar system is a wise investment in your home if you have a gas or oil boiler in particular Here are some figures: A €6000 investment in a solar system for your home of 4-6 people should get a grant of €1,200 from SEAI.
This brings the cost down to €4,800. You can claim the VAT back under the HRI Home Renovation Incentive scheme for homeowners. This will give annual savings of €800 per year for your house.
This equates to a payback of 6 years. Also, remember the savings are tax free and fuel bills will rise by 10% per year. If fuel bills rise by 10%, the payback becomes 10% faster.
Solar panels are the most cost effective form of alternative energy in Ireland.
The latest vacuum tube technology
Joule Acapella tube kits are high performance solar tube systems. The tubes are designed to be mounted on-roof over the roof tiles. The tubes have an alcohol liquid inside the glass tube. The alcohol transfers its heat into the system fluid through a copper bulb at the top of the tube.
The heat in the solar fluid then moves down the solar pipework into the coil in the cylinder. The Acapella tube systems produce more hot water compared with standard flat panels due to the increased insulation of the vacuum and the lower boiling point of the alcohol.
The increased performance must be closely matched against the hot water load of the property. If the additional hot water is not being consumed by the property and there is not a suitably designed heat dump the system will over stagnate and possibly air lock.