solartwin- solar heating

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Carpenter

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http://www.solartwin.com
Anybody have any experience of this product?
The idea and the technology seem sound but what is the Irish experience, if any? Any thoughts Heinbloed?

Carpenter
 
No direct experience myself but I am trying to get as much knowledge as possible on carbon-neutral living for my retirement property. £2,000 for a bungalow?........would that mean a larger panel needed for a family home? from the animation at the link you gave it looks foolproof. A number of builders I've spoken with about these systems comment on their unreliability as they depend on strong sunshine for sustained periods so a backup is needed.
 
I have no knowledge about " solartwin " . But check the estif homepage http://www.estif.org for EU standards to make sure if the product is good and efficient.There is an EU standard number.
The page of solartwin is complicated to get through , I could not find facts for efficiency.
Two panels are very,very small. The minimum you need is about 6m2 for the average household . Since they claim that their system is "flexible" and needs no frost protection the collector could be made of sub standard plastic pipes instead of metal/copper. "Substandard" because plastic is a bad heat conductor, as well it can't be soldered to fast transmitting metall heat collector surfaces. If it is so than stay away from this product , it would take ages to get something out of it .
In Germany the trend of new installations goes to 9m2 for warm water and 11m2 for combined domestic water and heating support.The panels are the cheapest part of the entire installation ( about 8% of the entire price incl.installation and VAT etc.), so they get the most out of it by using as much surface as possible.
Make sure as well that you get a well insulated and large enough storage tank, 300 liters are the absolute minimum.
Some information and sellers and installers are available at http://top50-solar.de/ ,you will be directed to the English page directly or simply click the "welcome" window. Manufacturers there are quoting prices as well. Before deciding for a system buy a good book about the issue , at least if you are planning to install the system your self.
 
THe £2000 price probably does not include installation which is not cheap.

In answer to Maries question about "reliability", in the Irish climate, it is not
possible to have a solar panel which heats all your water, all year,
unless you install a massive tank. This is not an issue of unreliability,
just the reality of our weather.

You spec the system to provide all your hot water in summer and you
get approx 50% of your hot water in an average winter. The assumption
is that you have some winter heating, which acts as a backup.
 
Before deciding for a system buy a good book about the issue , at least if you are planning to install the system your self.
Click to expand...

Heinbloed could you recommend such a book?

Thanks,
Carpenter
 
Hey Carpenter,

You will also need a Dual Coil Cylinder as compared to the standard one with one coil.
One coil for the Solar & the other coil for your Oil burner/gas/wp

These can tend to be expensive.

Look at www.sei.ie at their renewables section.


Best of luck
 
I have been looking into these systems recently, the SolarTwin solution looked attractive as a result of the simple plumbing involved, and the resultant reduced cost of being able to use the existing immersion tank rather than replace it with a special dual coil tank. These tanks seem expansive.

[broken link removed] are Irish distributors, I contacted them for a price and was quoted €3850 for the DIY kit, or €4400 for a fully installed system. The DIY kit in the UK is £1999, or roughly €2900. I mentioned that the difference in price seemed a little excessive, I didn't get a response!

Take a look at [broken link removed] page on SustainableDevelopments.ie for details of other suppliers in Ireland.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has installed such a system.
Leo
 
Hi Carpenter !
I have no direct recommendation for a good book on ( solar )heating technology but I suppose Amazone would be usefull . Most manufacturers of solar panels will give you a brochure and /or a video for installing the system in DIY manner. If buying a book buy one from/for the European market. The US literature is not very useful since they use different measure units and have different -non standardised- demand patterns relating to different installment methods. Check the " top-50 solar" page for some info as well.
 
Back about the literature Carpenter was looking for:

Greenpro is an associated partner of the EU.
 
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