For the general public, solar water heating is the mostpracticable and effective way in which they can use andenjoy renewable energy in their own homes. Market research confirms that those householders who overthe years have invested in solar water heating systemsare very happy with their systems, which they find to bereliable and to make a major contribution to their waterheating energy needs.One of the biggest advantages that solar water heatinghas is its ability to reduce the use of fossil fuels andthereby to help limit the emission of harmful "greenhousegases". A well designed solar water heating systeminstalled in a family house which previously used anelectric immersion heater can save in excess of half atonne of carbon dioxide emissions per annum.An active solar water heating system can be installedin any existing house, but if a system is installed at theoriginal build stage it will be considerably cheaper.Furthermore with the ever increasing prices of domesticfuels the payback time is falling fast. Plus Governmentgrants are available through the Clear Skies programme.To obtain a grant only Clear Skies approved suppliers maybe used with Clear Skies accredited installers such asnewarkplumber.
In 2006 the typical household gas bill roseby 40% and the electricity bill by 27%, andof course there is more to come. (Ofgem)With solar heating you can get 70% of theenergy needed for domestic hot waterfor free, as this DTI survey showed.This map shows the distribution inannual mean values of solar irradiationon a South facing 30° inclined plane inkWh/mē.The DTI conducted a monitoringprogramme of four domestic hot watersolar systems in the Midlands band onthe map. First year results showed thatthe systems provided an average of 72% of all the year's hot water requirementsat the four locations. All four systemsworked in winter as well as in summer,with 16%-18% of hot water needs beingmet in January and December, and100% being met in July and August.These diagrams show two typicalsystems using solar water heating. In the first there is a separate warmstore which is heated by the solarpanels. This warm store can supply thedomestic hot water directly, or pre-heated water may be diverted to thehot store to be further heated by theauxiliary heater (gas, electricity, oilor solid fuel).The second system uses only one watercylinder which is heated by the solarpanels and the auxiliary heater asrequired.newarkplumber Home