Solar panel efficiency.

[FatherJack]

Does anyone understand the realistic return on solar panel investment. How long is likely to take for solar electricity panels to earn their worth?
Are solar water heating panels any good to use with an on demand water heater?
I am very keen to promote sustainable energy for the home-owner, as someone who can't afford the services of a professional how can I go about gradually changing over to the systems mentioned above and also under floor heating which I understand is also more efficient than radiators?

[JamesPage]

We had installed 'Schott' tubes for solar water heating and seems to work well. Water in whole cylinder reaches 60C on a good day.
Clearly not much good without a cylinder.
Personally I think solar electric (PV) should be below hot water in list of priorites (being more expensive, less efficicent, and in short supply - so keep them for sunny parts.)

[savatherm]

I believe the return on solar panel system to be about 5-7 years. The problem we have in the UK is the amount of sunlight that we have in the winter months when you want the hot water and heating the most. To try and counter this you can try fitting an energy efficient boiler managment system like the savatherm energy minder which will only fire the boiler up when necessary (using temperature sensors on the flow & return pipes + outside weather compensation) instead of being stuck on a timer. This can reduce your energy bill by upto 30%! The two systems working in tandom are very efficientl!

http://www.savatherm.co.uk

[temps]

Hi All
I fit solar panels and they do work well.....But.......james has it about right.........5 - 7yrs at todays current fuel rates.......with all these fancy fuel saving quotes if you add the quoted savings up with new boiler, intelligent controls, rads, insulation etc you could run a house apparently and 100%!!!! Now that would be nice.......I doubt if ANY of these savings can be verified!!!!

Good lick and if its any use fit the Worcester ones as i fit those and have had no problems with these.....o.......and get an unvented cylinder dual coile 300Ltrs or more.

Happy solar!!!

[chrissutor]

Savings and the time to "payback" for Solar Hot Water installations all come back to usage, energy prices and the initial outlay. Around the "less than 10 years" mark is what is commonly quoted.

Higher water users will have larger systems, but benefit from economies of scale in the installation.

We use products that have the performance of the major branded lines without paying for the name. The cost savings mean that the "pay back" period is shorter, as the initial outlay is less. If you choose carefully (and it's a real shame that some out there haven't done so in the past) you can find very good, solid, reliable products at lower prices to give shorter pay back times.

http://www.allecoenergy.com

[solarsmith]

Are solar water heating panels any good to use with an on demand water heater??

there are diffrent ways of 'retro' fitting solar to on demand water heaters, combis..the idea is to pre heat the water entering the inlet to the combi,/water heater...this could be done via and unvented cyl used as the pre-heat.which is diverted direct to tap if up to temp (60 deg).

[dextercath96]

I understand the flow of the panels. Solar Generator, Is it environmental friendly equipment?
Ideal for camping or emergency power outages, the
Sun Power Port is a portable generator that when used
to its full potential will pay for itself in less than two

years.
In one day of full sunshine, the solar panel easily charges
the 12 volt (standard automobile) battery. An inverter
changes the DC current to AC. From there the electrical energy
is easily accessible to most standard 110 volt small
appliances used in North America. What are the advantages of

a solar generator? If you don't know, check out

sunpowerport.com. The featured generator will run most small

electrical appliances. It is great for camping or emergency

backup. No noise. No fumes.

[dextercath96]

I understand about the solar power generator. I would like to share some information about this certain topic. Solar Generator, Is it environmental friendly equipment?
Ideal for camping or emergency power outages, the
Sun Power Port is a portable generator that when used
to its full potential will pay for itself in less than two years.
In one day of full sunshine, the solar panel easily charges
the 12 volt (standard automobile) battery. An inverter
changes the DC current to AC. http://www.sunpowerport.com