How it works

Have you ever been in the swimming pool or garden and opened the hose pipe tap, only to find the water is really hot .... almost burning?

That demonstrates the principle behind Solar Thermal Energy, heating water for immediate use utilizing solar radiation.

To make the process as efficient as possible, special technologies have been developed to make the maximum use of the solar radiation. Solar collectors capture the energy and transfer it to a special liquid capable of absorbing much more energy than water.

Solar thermal collectors are made from materials that are specially designed to absorb solar energy. This material captures solar radiation and, through contact with a network of copper tubes, the heat is transferred to the liquid circulating within. The heated liquid circulates through the pipes into a water tank, raising the temperature of the water that is then available for use as DHW.

Evidently, solar thermal energy is an auxiliary heating system When the sun isn’t shining, or at night, water needs to be heated conventionally and so solar thermal energy must always have a backup boiler or water heater. Even so, this simple pre-heating represents an important energy saving and there are periods, for example in summer, where practically no conventional fuels are needed to heat the water supply, while, at other times, such as in the winter, both energy sources are combined to raise water temperature to an adequate level.

Thermal solar energy is an efficient way to heat domestic hot water, under-floor or pedestal heating and for heating a swimming pool.