solar powered systems

With global temperatures continueing to rise and as the worlds fossil fuel energy resources decline and their prices increase, its no wonder that domestic energy conservation remains a high priority. The development of innovative and effective renewable energy solutions is critical to future efficiency and enviromental wellbeing.

Solar heating for domestic hot water s one such solution and is the fastest growing renewable technology across Europe.

The solution is based on harnessing the sun to indirectly heat water in a cylinder and in the UK alone sales of the glazed solar collector unites are forcast to double over the next four yours.

Airplan UK are able to supply and fit a range of Solar related energy solutions for your home or office.

 

Flat Plat Solar Panels

Flat-plate collectors are the most common type of solar panels. They are basically an insulated metal box and a dark-colored absorber plate. Most boxes are covered with a "glazing": a glass or plastic cover.

Besides the glazed type of solar flat-plate panels, there are also other much cheaper unglazed panels, very used in swimming pool heating and in very simple solutions of home space heating.

 

Solar flat panels can be liquid or air flat-plate.

Liquid flat-plate collectors heat liquid as the liquid flows in the system. The simplest systems use domestic water, heated as it passes through the interior of the collector.

Air flat-plate collectors are very similar to liquid-plate collectors. They just use air instead of a liquid medium. But since air is a worse conductor of heat, this type of panels is less efficient and has a more limited range of applications. They are mostly used on stand-alone space heating solutions.

 

Evacuated Tube Collectors

Evacuated tube panels are typically made of rows of glass tubes, each of which contains a glass outer tube and an attached metal absorber tube with a fin covered with a coating (responsible for the absorbing and retaining of solar energy heat). The name of these collectors is due to the fact that air is "evacuated" from the space between the two glass tubes to form a vacuum that eliminates heat loss.

These type of panels are increasingly cost-competitive relatively to flat-plate panels, but are still more expensive than these. Their advantage is on the much higher temperatures they are able to generate (170-350°F/75º-176ºC are common), making them particularly suitable for home applications demanding high temperatures.

 

What is the best Solar Solution for Me?

There is some polemic about which is the best solar panel: the evacuated collectors or the flat-plate type? The truth is that there isn't exactly a best solar panel. It depends on several factors, and mainly from the climate, uses and needed temperatures.

Home applications that require temperatures below 200°F/93ºC use mostly flat-plate collectors; swimming pools applications use unglazed flat-plate collectors. House applications requiring temperatures above 200°F/93ºC use evacuated-tube collectors.

 

For further information or to arrange a no obligation quotation please call us today on 0191 2582911