Solar water heating systems = Solar panels + solar energy. Solar thermal: solar power & solar hot water.

Solar panels save energy!

How much solar energy does Solartwin deliver and save?

• Here are several answers. In terms of measured energy delivery in independent tests, In ideal conditions, with no backup heating at all and plenty of water being drawn off every day, Solartwin delivered around 1000 kWh (“units”) of energy a year in a test site in England in 2001. (Side By side Tests of Eight Solar Water Heating Systems- Energy Monitoring Company.)
• In terms of calculating simulated energy using programmes called solar simulators such as Polysun, energy yield is between 600 and 1000 kWh, depending on various factors such as the home’s location, plumbing details, and pattern of hot water use.
• With SAP, which is a UK based government sponsored simulator of solar heating systems used in building regulations calculations, the figure is around 650 kWh. But SAP does not properly credit Solartwin’s stratified storage, variable speed pumping and microbore pipes, all of which tend to boost performance.
• Interestingly, if you are saving gas or oil (rather than electricity) then the real fuel saving may even be double these figures, depending on the hot water delivery efficiency of the boiler and associated plumbing.
• Peak performance (a rather meaningless term, since it rarely happens that an unshaded summer sun is perpendicular to the panel while the water in it is also at the same temperature as the surrounding air) of the Solartwin collector is 1600W.
• Installed across the world for over a decade, thousands of Solartwin installatons have saved, to date, over ten million kilowatt-hours of energy. That’s 10 Gigawatt-hours. You can help to save energy and the planet at Solartwin! We invite you to join us now.

The Strength Of Solar Energy

Have you ever stopped to think of how much solar heat from solar energy that the sun produces daily? People who have harnessed solar energy certainly have! The sun produces electromagnetic radiation as solar energy which travels to the earth. This solar radiation energy can be harnessed using solar panels to produce affordable and environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional energy sources such as fossil fuels. How much solar energy collected varies according to the location of the solar-powered device, the amount of clouds present and the height of the sun in the sky.

Solar Energy Applications

• Solar energy presents a very attractive option to solarpower numerous devices ranging from watches and calculators to homes and boats. This source of renewable energy can be effectively used for electricity production, chemical processes and heating or cooling. Active solar water heating and passive space heating represent two of the most common uses for solar energy. You will probably notice more solar panels atop the roofs of residential or commercial buildings. New technologies are even utilizing solar energy to clean water and air!
• Claims that solar energy systems may offer cost-effective contributions to solar space heating should be treated with caution, unless the technology is relatively low cost solar. Interestingly, the further north you go the longer becomes the “central heating season”. This means that in UK, Scotland is a better candidate for solar central heating than southern England.
• The shortage of energy from sunlight is precisely the reason why it is colder at night and in winter. This is a meteorological reality, from which we cannot escape. In June in the UK, there is typically six times more solar energy available to be collected than in December. Six times! So solar energy can do space heating extremely well provided that you are happy to have most of the solar heat arriving when you don’t want it: by day and in summer. Solar central heating is usually not the most effective use of any solar energy harnessing device.
• But solar water heating is becoming an increasingly common way of harnessing solar energy; solar heating water for use in showers, household washing and many other applications. However, even in solar water heating applications where the solarhotwater is used for washing and bathing, between 30-70% of your energy may still need to come from other sources. The key points to solar energy systems are that systems such as solar water heating reduce the use of fuel and therefore the damage to the environment.

Advantages of solar energy

• The advantages if you buy solar energy are numerous. One of the first things you will notice after purchasing a greenergy solar product is the cost saving in fuel. Unless you buy a conventional solar water heating system one which requires regular maintenance (such as antifreeze replacements every two or thee years) and which uses mains electricity (for its pumps and control circuitry) running a solar-powered device should cost you almost nothing after your initial purchase. You will also be pleasantly surprised at the cost savings you can experience after installing solar panels to heat your water.
• For example, over a year, homeowners utilizing a solar water heating solution based on new types of solar thermal panels can expect 30-70% of their hot water to be heated by the sun’s free solar energy. Better positioned solar panels in low occupancy homes may approach this 70% “solar fraction”, while the same size solar panels which are less well positioned, or in homes with 3-4 people may achieve the lower solar fraction.
• Solar energy is also very ecologically friendly. Fortunately, zero carbon solar energy is a renewable resource that produces no carbon or pollution during its operation. Solar energy can be used to replace many traditional forms of energy which can dramatically reduce harmful green house gas emissions. But will it? Choosing solar – and selecting which type of solar is up to us.
• It is vitally important to specify zero carbon solar thermal.