Cost of Solar Water Heating System

burnsie1

Hi, Any idea of the cost of purchasing and installing a 3 panel flat plate collector (I reckon 6 m2) system, with 200L hot water tank. It includes the installation of the new piping etc and removal of the current system.

I am pretty tech. ignorant but my quote of €8,500 (before grant) seems high.

Thanks

Carlow52

burnsie1 wrote: »

Hi, Any idea of the cost of purchasing and installing a 3 panel flat plate collector (I reckon 6 m2) system, with 200L hot water tank. It includes the installation of the new piping etc and removal of the current system.

I am pretty tech. ignorant but my quote of €8,500 (before grant) seems high.

Thanks

what needs removing and why?

is 200l enough with 3 panels?

quentingargan

burnsie1 wrote: »

...my quote of €8,500 (before grant) seems high.

Thanks

Exhorbitant I would say.

Also, it is slightly unusual to see 6 sq m of solar into 200L cylinder, unless the roof is facing well away from south. I would look elsewhere...

A good 6sq m flatplate system, flashed into the roof with a 300L pressurised hot water cylinder can be installed for about €5,900 unless there are awkward aspects to the install. After the grant, that is about €4,400. A 4 sq m system with 200L cylinder would be about €500 cheaper after the grant (which more or less pays for the extra panels). I would suspect that your cowboy pal was putting in 6 sq m because the extra panels are paid for by the taxpayer via SEAI... :mad:

nulabert

Hi, Any idea of the cost of purchasing and installing a 3 panel flat plate collector (I reckon 6 m2) system, with 200L hot water tank. It includes the installation of the new piping etc and removal of the current system.

Of the point a bit, but what do you intend doing with the hot water? I met this guy one night that was after installing 4 sq m of panel and when it came down to it he had loads of hot water with no use since he had electric shower. dish washer, washing machine etc. If its a planning requirement - fair enough!

burnsie1

Actually it 6.9m2 of panels (net) or 7.5m2 gross?

tstenergyltd

have a look at a domestic hot water system before you spend your money

The First Guru

Sounds expensive and cylinder is very small. Sent you a PM. Worth a phone call to look at a very good system and prob a lot cheaper

tstenergyltd

never received your pm

burnsie1

Spoke with <SNIP>. The guys seemed very knowledgeable and quoted around €5,500 for the same system. 6.9m2 and 300L tank on SE facing roof. My only worry is that it will cost afortune to heat such a big tank in the depths of winter when it is "topped up" from the GFCH!! I'll hvae lots of hot water for showers etc but big bills as well.




Mod edit: Please read the forum charter. Business/company names are not usually allowed.

quentingargan

burnsie1 wrote: »

My only worry is that it will cost afortune to heat such a big tank in the depths of winter when it is "topped up" from the GFCH!!

All solar cylinders have two coils in them to heat their water. One at the bottom of the cylinder is fed by the solar panels and heats the whole cylinder. The second one is half way up the cylinder, and is supplied by your GFCH. This one only heats the top 120L to 150L, not the full 300L - this happens because heat only rises, never falls.

Even in the depths of winter, the solar coil will often bring this water up to 40 degrees or so (on sunny days, it will bring the whole cylinder up to full temp). Also, the cylinder is better insulated than most. So all in all, the demand on your GFCH is substantially reduced with any new solar cylinder.

donegal.

i was wondering if you could tell me if this sounds like a reasonable price .
2x flat panal or 20 tube thermomax
200L copper tank
s/steel flexible pipes
standard installation in 2 story house with an unconverted attic.
for €5900 (grant not available ).

quentingargan

donegal. wrote: »

(grant not available ).

Eh, why not? If the installer isn't meeting the relatively tame standards imposed by SEAI, I would run a mile. That's a top dollar price ++.

donegal.

quentingargan wrote: »

Eh, why not? If the installer isn't meeting the relatively tame standards imposed by SEAI, I would run a mile. That's a top dollar price ++.

my mpri for my electricity became active in june 2006. As of last week the latest date for your mpri to became active is 31/12/2005 so i can't avail of the €800 grant.
also is a 200L tank big enough for 2x adults and 3x young children ? given that i want a system that will meet our needs long into the future.

i've had 2 quotes for the same thermomax tubes( h20 i think, are they the best ?) and same 300l s/s tank . the quotes differ by over €2000. Can the quality of the rest of the components differ that much or is it purly down to profit margins?

homer911

donegal. wrote: »

my mpri for my electricity became active in june 2006. As of last week the latest date for your mpri to became active is 31/12/2005 so i can't avail of the €800 grant.
also is a 200L tank big enough for 2x adults and 3x young children ? given that i want a system that will meet our needs long into the future.

i've had 2 quotes for the same thermomax tubes( h20 i think, are they the best ?) and same 300l s/s tank . the quotes differ by over €2000. Can the quality of the rest of the components differ that much or is it purly down to profit margins?

Do you have an electric shower or does the hot water come straight from the tank - if the latter I would recommend 300l, if you have a suitable place for the tank. We are a family of 2 adults and 3 teenagers, with a 300l tank and we certainly use it. Your kids may not be jumping into the shower at every opportunity right now, but give them time!

quentingargan

donegal. wrote: »

As of last week the latest date for your mpri to became active is 31/12/2005 so i can't avail of the €800 grant.
also is a 200L tank big enough for 2x adults and 3x young children ? given that i want a system that will meet our needs long into the future.

Sorry - my mistake on the grant. I'm aghast that the date has been kicked back - there was some justification in the 2008 date because Part L compliance was making it mandatory, but there is no justification I can think of for a 2005 date, because solar was not widely available to new builds at that time (and we were all queueing up in sleeping bags to buy any old rubbish off the plans).

Agree with Homer on the cylinder size. It all depends on your water use, whether you take showers or baths etc. Also, if the house is occupied during the day, you tend to need more tubes, but less storage as the water is being used as heat is produced. AND - if you're stuck for space, particularly with tubes, you may consider fitting a few more tubes and bringing your cylinder to 80 or 85 degrees instead of 60. A 200L cylinder at 85 stores the same amount of heat as a 300L one at 60. But DON'T do that if you have hard water, as limescale will damage the cylinder coils.

While the sales folk like simple messages, there isn't really a one-size-fits-all. Q

burnsie1

If a higher temperature achieves the same result with a smaller tank why do they recommend a 60 degree temperature. Perhaps water starts to boil/bubble over 60 degrees?

quentingargan

burnsie1 wrote: »

If a higher temperature achieves the same result with a smaller tank why do they recommend a 60 degree temperature. Perhaps water starts to boil/bubble over 60 degrees?

A few reaons for 60 degrees - it is hot enough to sterilise the water and prevent Legionnaires. But above 60 degrees, you risk severe scalding.

In a conventional gas fired or immersion system, there is no advantage to going above 60 degrees, and it only increases the heat losses from the cylinder.

Lastly, if there is lime in the water, bringing it above 60 degrees will rapidly accelerate the process of limescale forming around the coil of the cylinder, shortening its life.

If you are bringing water above 60, you must fit an anti-scald valve, but this is considered to be best practice anyhow..

It used to be said back in the day that 60 was the minimum temp to get grease off of plates.

quentingargan

gary71 wrote: »

It used to be said back in the day that 60 was the minimum temp to get grease off of plates.

We use the dog to do that.

burnsie1

Thanks for that

C

roy rodgers

I know lad that supplys and fits 30 tubes with a 300 liter steel tank for under 2500-3000 cash max. and i have to say it top quality stuff i taught it was to good to be ture until I seen it in and working and i can tell ya the people in the house have never ran out of hot water yet this spring and tey have a 3 bar booster pump running the hot water.

Poor Uncle Tom

roy rodgers wrote: »

I know lad that supplys and fits 30 tubes with a 300 liter steel tank for under 2500-3000 cash max. and i have to say it top quality stuff i taught it was to good to be ture until I seen it in and working and i can tell ya the people in the house have never ran out of hot water yet this spring and tey have a 3 bar booster pump running the hot water.

We don't promote the black economy here. There is no legal comeback for anyone dealing this way, boss.

Anybody offering those 'deals' should be told to get back on their horse and leave.

ccsolar

roy rodgers wrote: »

I know lad that supplys and fits 30 tubes with a 300 liter steel tank for under 2500-3000 cash max. and i have to say it top quality stuff i taught it was to good to be ture until I seen it in and working and i can tell ya the people in the house have never ran out of hot water yet this spring and tey have a 3 bar booster pump running the hot water.

Hi Roy
It sounds a good deal Roy but if you were to get a proper company to install a 30 tube system it shouldn't really cost much more than €3300 inc Vat.
These cash max guys are around but where is the warranty? Are they insured?
What happens when 1 of them falls off the roof, the Seai recently got every solar company to reregister and part of that registration was that we all had to produce insurance and tax
clearance certs this has resulted in a massive drop is registered installers.
It's very easy drop the price if you don't pay tax,vat or insurance.

Cc