Solar Panels Explained

So your interested in saving money, doing your bit for the planet and increasing your Building Energy Rating (BER). Solar panels are the most common and affordable form of alternative energy available in Ireland. Other renewable sources are available, but are generally more expansive and with longer payback periods. Solar has a fast payback period, is free of running costs and will greatly increase your BER. Some people think the only benefit from solar is direct financial saving from the fuel saved. Don't forget that solar will greatly increase your BER. This in turn, will help maintain a high re-sale value for your home, when compared to a similar property. Finances aside; it will reduce the carbon emissions from your home. This is very important as the new carbon taxes in 2009 are going to effect us all financialy.

What type of solar panel should I choose?

There are two type of solar collectors available in Ireland. Evacuated tube and flat plate panels. We use the evacuated tube form. Evacuated tubes have benefits over flat plate panels that are desirable for the Irish climate. There is a never ending debate over which is better, which works best, which last longer, which looks better and so on...Simply put, evacuated tube panels out preform flat panels in cloudy or cooler climates. That's the bit most people forget to add onto that statement. Its important to understand it too. Flat plate panels have high thermal losses (they loose heat to the air or environment). Evacuated tubes are like thermos flasks and don't loose any heat. Also, because the tube is round, it is always facing the sun and always has the maximum face area exposed to the direct sun. Flat panels on the other hand, expose their full face area for a short period of time when the sun is directly overhead. When comparing panels, make sure not to only compare "peak output" and to compare the output over the entire day. The two types of solar panels may take in the exact same amount of energy, but the flat panel will lose some of it 's energy to the air, before its' able to transfer it to the water. On a sunny day, this doesn't matter, as the panel will lose heat, but it will be replaced immediately by the sun. The south polar base station heats it water by solar panels. They use evacuated tubes as flat plates don't work well in cooler, less sunny climates.

About our Solar panels

Our Evotherm solar panels are the evacuated tube type. The evacuated tube solar panel has been around for over 10 years, and has proved to be reliable and dependable. Our twin-wall vacuum tubes consist of a double wall glass tube (made from strong borosilicate glass often known aspyrex). There is a narrow gap between the two layers of glass which is under a vacuum, and this provides very effective insulation against heat loss. The center of the tube contains a copper heat-pipe. The sun's radiation is absorbed by the selective coating on the inner glass surface, but prevented from re-radiating by the silver internal lining. This is in effect like a one-way mirror which has been optimised for infra-red radiation. In fact it is very efficient, 93% of all the suns radiation hitting the panel is absorbed, and only 7% is lost through heat loss. The presence of the vacuum wall prevents any losses by conduction or convection- just like a thermos flask!

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