Easy to Print SolaPlug Information
| Sizing your Solar System |
| When retrofitting solar to an existing hot water cylinder, the tank
must be large enough. |
| It is good practice to set the boiler controller to heat the water
only once a day in the evening. |
| Many cylinders will be large enough to be heated only once a day,
but before retrofitting solar to the existing cylinder, it is worth
checking. |
| In the UK solar radiation is 6 times more
powerful in June than December. |
| In most households hot water demand is constant throughout the year. |
| Solar systems are sized to achieve roughly 60% saving on water
heating costs, providing almost all water heating in the summer months &
proportionately less for other seasons. |
| Solar Trade Association guidelines suggest 1m² or 5 large tubes per
person living in the house. |
| It would be possible to over size a system providing a greater
saving, however the surplus energy in the summer months would have to be
dumped to prevent excessive stagnation & reduced collector lifespan, &
often the additional cost outweighs the benefits. |
| Solar Trade Association guidelines recommend between 25 & 75 litres
of cylinder volume per m² of collector area. In practice for a south
facing collector inclined at 30degrees with average pipe length, the
cylinder volume should be at least 40 litres per m² of collector. |
| 4m² of collector connected to a 200litre cylinder is ideal for 4
people. |
| SolaPlug can help - please get in touch
with any questions you may have. |