Solar water heaters

Can anyone suggest a good company in this area that sells and fits solar water heaters?

I dont know an awful lot about them, but if anyone has any suggestions, then please let me know.

Not sure whether the best is with the tank on the top or having the tank separate. Which is best??

Hi Peter

You asked  "Can anyone suggest a good company in this area that sells and fits solar water heaters?"

I searched your previous posts & saw you are Torrevieja area.

If you update your forum profile we can all see where you are in Spain, otherwise members likely won't answer as they don't know whereabouts in Spain you're asking about.

Have you tried the classified ads in our (I am in same area)  local online papers such as these ?

http://www.coastrider.net/

http://www.yourlocalnewspaper.info/news/index.php

 http://www.costablanca-news.com/

http://www.roundtownnews.co.uk/

Or you could've Googled, as I have done on your behalf, to find http://www.waterworksinspain.com/plumbers-services.html in Torrevieja.

There are a few in your area on this page, take a look http://energy.sourceguides.com/businesses/byGeo/byC/Spain/byP/solar/sWH/byN/byName.shtml

1st Call Property Services in Dolores Send Email to 1st Call Property Services

Kom Sol solar tech s.l. in Santa pola

www.solardirecta.com Murcia

Peter, the answer to the tank question is that it really needs to go on top because heat rises.  Most modern solar panels work by indirect heating - the water circulating in the panels rises into a  coil within the tank which then heats the water.  The water in the heating element part has chemicals in it to prevent freezing etc I think, and does not touch the water you use. 

We have two panels with a 300litre tank which for the two of us can last as much as three days even if it is cloudy as it was in April.  The tanks are superbly well insulated - right now the water is scalding and we are considering covering up one of the panels for the summer!  We have friends with a 200 litre tank and one panel and they find that they sometimes need to use their electric booster after a day without sun.  I think if space allows it is better to spend the extra for the larger system.  Beware where you site it:  if you have long pipe runs to your taps from the heater, every time you run the hot water you may lose spend as much in water as you save in energy.

Hope this is helpful

You could call Gary at Polar Air,we met him last year with our air conditioning being installed,he is a ex uk.gas installer and heating engineer,and also installs solar hot water,he also has spanish certifacation for installing solar,do not have his number om hand at the moment,but you can serach polar air on the internet

Colleen

Peter ..........

 didn't you read way down this thread as I gave you lots of info on 28 Apr 2008 11:39 AM, seems as if you might've only read last post. You didn't mention Jane's long post either.

Many thanks for all of your help. I have now ordered a 300 litre tank system and fingers crossed it will be fitted on the 14th May.

I really appreciate all of your advice...thanks

tank on top and seperated tank are two different kinds of systems.

tank on top system utilize natural circulation to make hot water,so please

make sure your location can place the whole solar water heater.

seperated tank solar system utilize the forced power to circulate to make

hot water,water pump,working station need in the system,so the cost will

be higher that 1st system,certainly the thermal performance will be higher

than 1st system.

if you have any query regarding to solar water heater,i am glad to reply within my knowledge

Hi

We are looking at putting solar water heating in; we are currently having our cortijo renovated. We don`t want to put them on the roof, especially at the front which is south facing, as it would spoil the character of the property.

Any suggestions as to the best place to locate them, if not on roof.

Mick

any place where solar water heater could receive enough solar radiation,such as yard,balcony,or

other place

Hi Mike,

as long as the solar water heater is not a gravity feed unit , it could be ground mounted

Regards Tony   cssolar

Hi Everyone,

I'm Ellis M.D. of gosolarinspain - We supply vacuum tube compact water heaters to expats throughout mainland Spain. We only sell the new vented to atmosphere models. Those are the ones with the small assistant tank or cystern on top. We are (probably) the number one supplier of solar electric home kits to expats in Spain. Before adding solar hot water heaters to our Spain range we did a great deal of research. We heard so many horror stories from people in Spain who had bought systems which had steam valves instead of vent to atmosphere systems. When buying a solar water heater in Spain because hard water is a problem we strongly recommend you avoid systems which use steam valves to relieve pressure. These systems work OK until the steam valve fails then they often explode. Alternatively they may boil dry and implode when they cool down. I hope this helps - any information you need please use contact us on our website

P.S. You are right - only gravity systems need to be roof mounted.

 Hi Gosolarinspain,

I have been considering for sometime having solar fitted to my house in Spain.

Considering rising electricity prices and also enviromental issues i am keen to change over.

I wouldn't need a water heater as i have a combi boiler and central heating but could you answer honestly if.......there is a system that will run my whole house 200m2, 3 bed,2bath with 10x5 pool and 3 aircon units.

I would want the system to run everything so i do not have to rely on my mains supply at all.

Many people i have spoken to tell me that the systems will not supply the amount of power i use.

I would consider backing the system up with a wind turbine as i have the room to do so....if neccesary?

could you tell me firstly if there are systems available that will be up to the job and secondly,an estimated cost.

Many Thanks.

Hi Ellis

This is Tony of cssolar I tolay agree with what you said about high pressure units, I like your self sell pre heat units, another good thing about this type is that it can produce more hot water than the capacity of the tank and because there is water in the tubes that also increases the storage capacity.  Lets hope they will become the chosen swh type for this area of Spain !!

ps. Georgia, sounds like a tall order ( i dont sell stuff for electric production but from what I have seen it would be quite expensive and you would probably still need a back up generator )

Hi Georgia,

It can be done but you'd need a massive power plant and a massive investment. When you go solar you have to make some small lifestyle changes. Generally speaking any heating or cooling appliances are big power consumption and a no no. Electric cookers for example and air conditioning units which you need to replace with ceiling fans. Also investigate more natural ways of cooling. A naya outside the door for example. The plants evaporate moisture and this latent heat displacement cools the air before it enters your home. You can use the same principle with running water and water sprays.

Yes wind generators are excellent. A hybrid solar and wind power sytem makes an excellent combination.

I hope this helps. If you want a quote you'll have to contact us through the website

Hi Tony,

Thanks for commenting. I'm glad you agree

I came across this link by accident and would like if I may ask what experience either of you "solar experts" have had with pressurized systems ? 

Are you using scare tactics to try and put people off a product that you do not sell or is it you do not understand how they work ?

We have sold/installed over 300 of these what you make sound like "time bombs" over the last seven years and we have never had one leave a roof to go orbiting the earth under its own propulsion. YET!

There have been over 3 million pressurized units installed in the  med area over the last 10 years, over 100,000 in Israel alone. Exactly how many tanks do you know have "exploded" or indeed "imploded" due to a faulty valve ?

I know of over 15 people who now have one of our fully pressurized units as a direct replacement to these cheap gravity feed or pre heat coil in tank systems you talk of.They are fine for the poor under developed third world countries that they were designed for. Please be honest with your audience you are pushing them not from some great safety concern or for your clients best interest. But purely as they are very very cheap to buy and you make great profit margins when you sell them.

I look forward to your responses.

Kind regards.

Keith.  

Hi Keith,

I have visited your website and I can see that we are both supplying compact solar water heaters which use incredibly efficient vacuum tubes to heat the water. Both systems have an internal coil and deliver hot water at mains pressure. If your heater gets over pressure the excess pressure is vented through a pressure relief (steam) valve. Our heater never gets over pressure because it has a vented to atmosphere system, the latest technology for small compact or combined units. In this system an extra tank is added. Vented to atmosphere systems are instantly recognisable with their small assistant tank or cystern on top.  With a vented to atmosphere system a pressure releif valve is not necessary . This avoids any possibility of calcium build up causing the valve to fail.

Perhaps the water in Murcia where you are doesn't contain as much calcium as it does in the rest of Spain. Or perhaps your customers have water softeners fitted. You seem to have averted the disasters others have suffered. I can only speak from personal experience. A good friend of mine runs a log cabin holiday resort just around the corner and he had two of these pressurised units blow on him and had to be replaced. Not a mile from here there is another buckled tank on a roof top. The audience to this debate may well have their own experiences to add. It would be interesting to find out.

Pressurised systems with pressure releif valves work well when they are incorporated in a split system where you have an expansion vessel and you have more control over pressure and temperature. The solar collector is located on the roof and the tank elsewhere. We are very much in favour of pressurised systems of this type. We have a split system €1,999 + IVA as part of our current range of solar water heaters. Our split system has two internal coils so a seperate heat source such as a boiler can be incorporated.

I felt that I needed to respond to your comments to set the record straight but I haven't the time for a heated debate!

Un Saludo,

Ellis

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