Solar thermal panels, along with a condensing boiler, most often represent the best green investment for all types and sizes of buildings.

Solar Thermal or hot water panels have been available since the 1970’s. The basic principle behind them is very simple; you place what is effectively a flat plate collector on your roof and the water circulating around it gets heated up when the sun is shining which in turn is circulated indirectly through your hot water storage vessel.

A more recent innovation is the development of evacuated tubes. These cost more to produce, but they are considerably more efficient at harvesting energy from daylight, especially in the winter months.

It is vital that each job is surveyed as the type of installation and collector type is dependant on location of the collectors and hot water requirements.

Domestically, they can heat 89% of your hot water in the summer and save up to 60% of the annual fuel cost for heating hot water (that’s just the hot water part of your fuel bill – not the total fuel bill).

Flat plate collectors should ideally be sited on a south facing, pitched roof facing, between SW and SE.

Evacuated tube panels offer more flexibility in siting, as the individual tubes can be rotated towards the sun, to maximize absorption. There is also the option to install tubes on flat roofs, vertically on walls or balconies.