Solar Powered hot water heating systems

The most important part of a solar thermal system is the ‘collector’. The collector’s role is to absorb the sun’s energy and efficiently convert it to heat for transfer to the hot water system. The collector is normally mounted on the roof of your building.

Hot water is supplied to the building by transferring the heat absorbed by the collector and pumping it down to your cylinder.

We provide a number of different sizes of solar thermal systems; which include:

• 8 tube
• 12 tube
• 18 tube
• 21 tube

We also survey and design bespoke systems to suit your requirements.

Each system can save you between 39% and 70% of your hot water heating costs*.

Our system can generate 733 kwh per square meter per year making it the highest power output yield on the market using the minimum amount of space.

How much energy can be collected?

A well designed system, incorporating a collector installed by Solar Power Scotland, can be expected to collect useful energy greater than 450 kilowatt hours per year, per square metre.

But it's often cloudy in the UK?

There is a common misconception that solar thermal systems do not operate when it is cloudy. In the UK there is a relatively high percentage of cloudy days compared to clear days. When the sun’s radiation passes through clouds, it is dispersed and is known as diffused radiation. On clear days, with no dispersion effect, it is known as direct radiation. Solar thermal systems are able to operate in both conditions.

Evacuated tube solar collectors

Evacuated tubes are highly efficient even with low solar radiation, as well as in circumstances where there is a large temperature difference between the absorber and  ambient temperatures. Evacuated tube collectors use glass tubes in which a vacuum is created. This acts as a source of insulation, reducing heat losses from the collector and making the product very efficient.

How Evacuated Tubes Work:

Daylight is collected through an evacuated tube panel array (similar to a series of thermos vacuum flasks) which heats up a copper coil inside of the tube which contains a heat transfer fluid called Glycol. The fluid is pumped through stainless steel flexi-pipe to a large solar coil in the hot water tank, this in turns heats the water in the tank eliminating or reducing the need for the boiler to burn fuel to heat your hot water.

Why Solar Thermal?

• You will immediately start reducing your energy bill by between 39% and 70% of what it costs to heat your hot water* 
• You will be reducing your household's carbon footprint immediately
• You will become significantly less reliant on utility companies as you will be harvesting free energy
• The value of your property will increase as your homes efficiency level will increase
• Who will be helping Scotland to reach its target of becoming the world leader in renewable energy
• You will be the owner of the most advanced Solar Thermal Collector system on the market

*The Energy Savings Trust: Here comes the sun: A field trial of solar water heating systems , 01/09/2011, AND Kloben Solar Calculus Software Tool: Calculation based on the following PROJECT DATA: hot water load of 140L/day, 60^oC, storage size: 300L, days per week of usage: 7,  SOLAR PLANT: 2 collectors, type SKY 12 CPC 58, total surface: 4.32m², slope: 45^o Azimuth: 0^o, piping losses: 1%, snow or dirt losses: 2%, cold water temperature: computed automatically, location: SELECTED PROJECT LOCATION: Aberdeen, Total months of usage: 12, Total solar fraction during the usage period: 70.41.

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