How Solar Works

Here in the UK solar panels are becoming a very popular way to generate free energy for the home and for businesses.

Many people believe that solar hot water panels will work on sunny days, this could not be further from the truth !

In fact the panels only need daylight to produce the free energy.

In frosty or overcast conditions the panels can still reach between 60-70 degrees as appose to summer months of 100 degrees plus.

Solar water heating systems use solar panels, called collectors, fitted to your roof. These collect heat from the sun and use it to warm water which is stored in a hot water cylinder.

There are two types of solar water heating panels, they are evacuated tubes (like in the picture above) and flat plate collectors. Flat plates collectors can be fixed on the roof tiles or integrated into the roof.

A boiler or immersion heater can be used as a back up to heat the water further to reach the temperature set by the cylinders thermostat when the solar water heating system does not reach that temperature. (The cylinder thermostat should be set at 60 degrees centigrade.)

Larger solar panels can also provide energy to heat your home as well - though usually only in the summer months when home heating is unnecessary.