Plumbing/solar panels

jayo99

Guys,

I'm deciding on what way to plumb my house. I wanted to go with a regular hot cylinder / no pumps and leave myself the option of adding solar panels at a later stage.

I've been told in order to do this I need to have a pressurised cylinder installed, with a pump etc. Do I need to have a pressurised cylinder in order to use solar panels?

Also, I have very little room on the roof of my house for the panels so it was suggested I put the panels on the roof of my shed and put my hot cylinder out there too, with the pump etc. Then pump everything back into the house..

Anyone got any ideas?

ircoha

jayo99 wrote:

Guys,

I'm deciding on what way to plumb my house. I wanted to go with a regular hot cylinder / no pumps and leave myself the option of adding solar panels at a later stage.this can be easily doneokay to elaborate, u need to fit two tees to the HW circuit from ur WP burner aand then use either non return valves or motorised valves to isolate the WP HW circuit while the SP circuit is on, what ever u do make sure that the pressure relief vaves for ur WP burner are not on the far side of any of these valves/

I've been told in order to do this I need to have a pressurised cylinder installed, with a pump etc. Do I need to have a pressurised cylinder in order to use solar panels?< i dont believe that to be the case, I can see no reason for that.the only possible reason is that the heating coils in pressurised cylinders are in general much more efficient than in ordinary cylinders, in mine it is nearly all coil!. therefore u may need a big coil to suck the heat out of the SP HW before the water goes back up again There is nothing that strikes me that requires it from a physics stand point. after all the WB HW circuit and the SP HW circuit are both closed, aka indirect circuitsI was at the building show today and no body there suggested u need to go pressurised

Also, I have very little room on the roof of my house for the panels so it was suggested I put the panels on the roof of my shed and put my hot cylinder out there too, with the pump etc. Then pump everything back into the house..< if u do this there are 2 issues, the first one being that u will waste a lot of water just getting the hot to come in to the house. Water is a scarce resource and should not be wasted. This probelm can be over come by using a circulation loop with a brass circulation pump. what that does is creat a loop of hot water and u just take ur connections off it. This does not waste any water but you do lose the heat in a lot of hot water.I was at the building show today and there are lots of cylinerds there with three sets of coils so as u can have solar, wood pellets and a another as heat sources

As your SP's will not give u 100% hot water all year u will be using something else to heat it which will cost revenue dollars, bottom line bad idea to put in shed

Anyone got any ideas?

jayo99

>I'm deciding on what way to plumb my house. I wanted to go with a regular >hot cylinder / no pumps and leave myself the option of adding solar panels at >a later stage.this can be easily done

Care to elaborate ?


>I've been told in order to do this I need to have a pressurised cylinder >installed, with a pump etc. Do I need to have a pressurised cylinder in order >to use solar panels?< i dont believe that to be the case, I can see no reason >for that.
Again? Can you expand ?

>Also, I have very little room on the roof of my house for the panels so it was >suggested I put the panels on the roof of my shed and put my hot cylinder >out there too, with the pump etc. Then pump everything back into the >house..< if u do this there are 2 issues, the first one being that u will waste >a lot of water just getting the hot to come in to the house. Water is a >scarce resource and should not be wasted. This probelm can be over come >by using a circulation loop with a brass circulation pump. what that does is >creat a loop of hot water and u just take ur connections off it. This does not >waste any water but you do lose the heat in a lot of hot water.
>
>As your SP's will not give u 100% hot water all year u will be using something >else to heat it which will cost revenue dollars, bottom line bad idea to put in >shed

I wont be using it 100% as my hot water source. I plan on installing a wood pellet boiler.

ircoha

I have just returned from the building show where they have a selfcontained "shed" that goes in your garden which has a woodpellet boiler as well as solar panels and it is connected to the house via pre-insulated pipes.

I have no idea of what it cost etc or as to its capability

see http://www.energycabin.com/

Reyman

ircoha wrote:

I have just returned from the building show where they have a selfcontained "shed" that goes in your garden which has a woodpellet boiler as well as solar panels and it is connected to the house via pre-insulated pipes.

I have no idea of what it cost etc or as to its capability

see http://www.energycabin.com/

It's a good idea but who wants a contraption like that in your back garden. It needs a touch of design to make it a seller

towbar

If you are installing a wood pellet boiler consider using a buffer tank in your garage and connect the solar to this. Use an ordinary hot water cyclinder inside pressurised or unpressurised. The solar will heat up the buffer tank which can be used for heating hot water or for central heating

I am doing a similar thing here.

I intend to install a large unpressuresed thermal store in the house, this will have two immersion heaters on it for backup water heating.

From there I have an insulated "district heating" pipe to the shed.

When the shed is built, It will house another water cylinder that will be fed by solar panels. There will also be a wood pellet boiler which will be connected between the solar cylinder and the main thermal store. This means that the solar panels will preheat the water before the wood pellet boiler, in the summer I hope to bypass the boiler altogether.

I hope it works
watch this space!!:cool: