As seen on TV - Dick Strawbridge's BBC2 show 'It's not easy being Green' - solar hot water panels. Evacuated tube solar hot water panels.

These panels are Ideal for your DIY solar hot water project, we aim to save you money, just take a look at our amazing low cost pricies! DIY or ask us for an installation price!

These top-of-the-range solar panel heat collectors are suitable for heating domestic hot water, swimming pools etc - even in the winter! also known as a Vacuum hot water panel. One unit is adequate for an average household (3-4 people), and it is modular, so you can add more if required. A single panel is sufficient for a 200 litre cylinder, but you can fit 2 or more for high water usage, or for heating swimming pools or underfloor heating. Some types of renewable energy are only available in certain locations, however free solar heating is potentially available to almost every house in the UK! Every house should have one -really! And with an overall efficiency of almost 80%, they are much more efficient than electric photovoltaic solar panels (efficiency of 7-15%). If we compare them on a like-for-like basis, the price of an essentialspark.com supplied Solar Water Heater is around 30p/watt (compared to £6+/watt for solar photovoltaics!)

An assembled 20 tube standard panel and 10 tube high efficiency panel.
Click here for the new pictorial guide showing how to mount a solar panel to the roof

Click here To download a free DIY Installation Manual - 1.9MB (It will take a few minutes to download, not recommended for dial-up users).

This manual covers background information, specifications of the panel, sample plumbing plans and assembly information. We do not show the standard plumbing components in the schematics. The schematics are designed to show just the solar relevant components. If you have a vented cylinder, then you will need a full size header tank, if you have a thermal store, you simply need a minimal size header tank for expansion only. If you have a pressurised cylinder, then you will have an expansion vessel for this instead of a header tank. The header tanks are as per standard plumbing requirements, so plumbers should be aware of the requirements. If you are unsure then always seek professional plumbing advice!

The vacuum tube solar panel has been around for over 10 years, and has proved to be reliable and dependable. The vacuum tubes consist of a double wall glass tube (made from strong borosilicate glass ie pyrex) with a space in the centre which contains the heat pipe. The sun's radiation is absorbed by the selective coating on the inner glass surface, but prevented from re-radiating by the silvered innermost lining. This is in effect like a one-way mirror which has been optimised for infra-red radiation. In fact it is very efficient, of the sun light's energy hitting the tube's surface, 93% is absorbed, whereas only 7% is lost through reflection and re-emission. The presence of the vacuum wall prevents any losses by conduction or convection - just like a thermos flask. The system will work even in very low temperatures, unlike traditional flat plate collectors. Our system can be used to heat up water at the South Pole Antarctic Science Base - where ambient air temperatures can drop below -40°C BBBRRRHHHHH

The heat transferred to the tip of the heat pipe is in turn transferred to a copper manifold in which water circulates to heat the domestic hot water tank. If a tube were placed in direct sunlight on a summer day, the tip temperature could reach 250°C - the system easily heats domestic hot water cylinders to 60°C even in cooler weather! The manifold is well insulated with a 2" thickness of pre-formed rockwool to retain heat and avoid heatloss . Unlike flat plates, headers are so well insulated that they should normally not require antifreeze - the temperature of the header shouldn't fall below 10°C even in very cold weather. More advanced solar controllers, which we can provide, include a low-temperature facility- If the temperature of the collector goes under a defined level, the pump will operate to allow the water at the bottom of the tank to slightly heat the collector . This would never be necessary in normal conditions, - so it provides a good safety margin.