Solar PV panels for Space Heating

BlondieR · 19-09-2011 08:52PM #1

Hi, I am currently planning a self build in Tipperary and am looking at installing solar PV panels as opposed to Geothermal due to the lower initial outlay & running costs.

Has anyone got PV panels for space heating & if so how did you get on these past two winters??

heinbloed · 20-09-2011 08:32AM

There are no " solar PV panels ".
Like there aren't any " water boats ".

There are only PV panels, photovoltaik panels. These turn light into electricity, that's all. No sunshine needed, any light source would do.

Be carefull when dealing with cowboys who use misleading slogans.They know why they use these idiotic terms, they're trained to do so.

air · 20-09-2011 08:59AM

Using pv (or any solar energy) directly as a primary energy source makes no sense as energy production would be lowest at the time you need highest production (mid winter).
Furthermore it doesn't make any sense to use pv for heating, if you want to produce heat use a solar thermal panel, far more efficient and much cheaper to store any energy harvested.
The closest thing to what you are trying to achieve would be a grid tied pv install in parallel with a heat pump. Energy harvested in the summer would help offset your winter costs.

Personally I would spend the money on improving your insulation / air tightness and install a wood gasification boiler or a traditional oil boiler to meet your heat load.
People obsess about the choice of heat source but the key is to minimise your energy use in the first place - the source then becomes much less important.

Pv is not yet very economic here but it is getting near, prices have been dropping steadily at 15% a year for a while now (solarbuzz.com).

heinbloed · 20-09-2011 12:01PM

The price for purchased electricity has to be matched by PV in the OP's situation.This isn't the case yet in Ireland, in the South of Italy it is already cheaper to use homemade PV instead of purchasing electricity from the public grid.

For the South of Europe this grid parity would be achieved by around 2013, for the rest of Europe around 2015.

When looking at the production price for electricity PV will match convential electricity at around 2018.

Therefore most electricity suppliers/conventional centralised electricity producers will go out of bussiness by the time. This includes expensive wind farms.

For future predictions concerning grid parity of PV see here:

http://www.energytrend.com/node/2039

air · 20-09-2011 12:28PM

I agree heinbloed, at present in Ireland PV you could hypothetically buy today would fall in value more in a year than the value of the electricity it would produce in that year. However as you say the tipping point is near.
I wouldn't be too convinced that it will eliminate all other energy sources overnight but I agree that it potentially has a huge contribution to make as the economics improve.

BryanF · 21-09-2011 09:44PM

BlondieR wrote: »

Hi, I am currently planning a self build in Tipperary and am looking at due to the lower initial outlay & running costs.

Has anyone got PV panels for space heating & if so how did you get on these past two winters??

if your planning to build, as AIR said, get your building fabric right first, minimise the amount of heating you require before looking at technological (ecobling:)) solutions. have you heard of the passive house standard?

re solar PV for space heating, i think you need to get some professional help here.. the best way to 'use the sun' is to get your windows to act as the 'solar panels'...
can you elaborate on what you mean by 'initial outlay & running costs' how many panels had you in mind and how much electricity do you intend to generate. better yet do you know how many kwh/m2/per Year your proposed house will use? this info is vital before making any decision on heating systems.

Solar PV panels for Space Heating

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