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  • #1

    solar thermal or iboost or both

    already have solar panels and looking for hot water heating ,

    Our boiler is a band d boiler and our water tank is quite old sp might need replacing or an immersion element added to it .

    I have the option to buy and use a solar iboost /immersun as i understand it and heat hot water using the immersion element, I was also interested on the Solar thermal panels I believe they qualify for the RHI incentive but not sure if they can work in parallel with an iboost /immersun?

    I guess I can use the Solar photovoltaic and the iboost to convert that electricity to heat, but is it more efficient to use solar thermal panels? How much difference in cost/ efficiency is there?

    also your opinion

    Shall I add Immersion element on the existing boiler??
    System Boiler and water tank replacement (also type of boiler i believe that the same type needs to be used but a more efficient one, because most combi boilers don't accept hot water?)
    Solar thermal panels??
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  • #2
    More details please.

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    • #3
      Solar thermal can be 2 to 3 times more efficient than PV

      Last I checked the heat pump style water heaters were the most cost effective in most areas.
      [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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      • #4
        Where are you located? That makes a big difference in what your best option is.
        For me a heat pump water heater was the best. NH offers a great rebate on them, and it was a quick easy 2 hour install by myself.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by emartin00 View Post
          Where are you located? That makes a big difference in what your best option is.
          For me a heat pump water heater was the best. NH offers a great rebate on them, and it was a quick easy 2 hour install by myself.
          The way things look to be shaping up, for DHW, heat pump water heaters, when coupled with a PV system for the rest of a residence will probably be more cost effective than solar thermal for the DHW load (against elec. resist. heating of the DHW) for most consumers who have regular and reasonably reliable electric service, and probably more so in less in less sunny climates.

          I've got a solar thermal flat plate and it works fine, but if I was doing it now, from scratch, I'd probably go the heat pump route for the DHW, add that load to the electric load, and refigure the PV system size, or any PV system at all for that matter, based on the new (revised) economics.

          If I had no PV and a non electric source for DHW, such as nat. gas, the economics might be a bit tougher to justify for a heat pump as a DHW source, but my guess is it might still be close in a lot of situations.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by J.P.M. View Post
            I've got a solar thermal flat plate and it works fine, but if I was doing it now, from scratch, I'd probably go the heat pump route for the DHW, add that load to the electric load, and refigure the PV system size, or any PV system at all for that matter, based on the new (revised) economics.
            I had solar thermal on my roof in NH for 30 completely maintenance free years. It was a seemingly rare, refrigerant based system and the system finally gave up the ghost with a leak in one of the panels themselves. While replacing the collectors and switching to antifreeze was an option, it was a pretty expensive one. I ended up doing exactly as JPM describes and removed the flat plates, installed PV panels on the SW roof and plan to add a HPWH which which will get all it's power from the new panels. Overall a simplier and more cost effective system to handle my electric and DHW needs.

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