Residential Solar Water Heating

Solar Water Heating

If you have been looking for solar water heating systems, by now you could be overwelmed with the amount of options available to you. Many people do not believe solar water heating can work in Canada as it is so cold in most of the country during winter.

In fact solar water heating works increadibly well even during the -40 deg C days that are all too common in a lot of Canada.

Even on these -40 Deg C days the evacuated tube collectors can reach temperatures of over 200 Degrees C, more than enough to boil water!

How many BTUs can the collectors produce! - This is a question that is asked a lot. The answer is not that simple. It really depends on where you live. Anyone telling you "our collectors produce ???? BTUs per hour" need to tell you where they are doing the test as it totally depends on the climate where you live.

To help answer these questions and show you how the climate varies please read these artciles.

"How much energy do Solar Collectors produce"

"How solar collectors are affected by the climate you live in"

Most importantly, before you buy any solar collector from ANY company, you need to read this article.

"How to calculate different power outputs of different Solar collectors"

There are many evacuated tubes for sale in Canada that advertise how many WATTS of power they produce, please make sure you read this "solar collector peak power" before making your decision.

Evacuated tube solar collectors are in general ideally suited to the Canadian Climate. This is because the "evacualted tube is essentially like the double glazing in your home. The double glazing helps your home stay warmer by keeping the heat in your home, it does a similar thing the evacuated tube solar collectors.

 Residential - Solar Hot Water and solar water heating systems

Proffesionally Installed Solar Water Heating Systems

• In Calgary, Banff and Canmore, Alberta, we can visit your house or business and can provide you a quote for us to install a solar hot water system. For OUR INSTALLED systems we can supply you with the best value Evacuated Solar Panel Package you will find. If you live in the Calgary, Canmore or Banff area, email us to set up a visit and give you a quote.
• For
  
  
  Please visit the store for all the prices and details
  of the solar water heating products. - Click here.

DIY Solar Water Heating Systems

• For people wanting to purchase a DIY System, we can supply you the best value Evacuated tube Solar collectors you will find. Our panels received a grant of between $1040 and $3200 Per collector for commercial applications. This large grant was set by the Government of Canada ecoENERGY program for our collectors due to the quality and the high power output and was the highest grant received by any solar collector we know of.

• The Panels you purchase are backed by our guarantee. See the Solar School.

Custom Solar Designs

• Custom Design - If you need a small residential system that is doing just your domestic hot water then the system is relatively simple and the system layout is quite simple and you will probably not need much help.
  
  If you are wanting a custom design that integrates your Domestic hot water, in floor heating, swimming pool etc then we can design the a system for you. Please contact us for details.

What we cannot do for you.

• For a DIY purchase we cant provide individual detailed plumbing diagrams. This will depend on your local codes.
  As a guide, these diagrams show how to put the system together. Click for a larger image.

Do you have questions - See the solar school

• A lot of questions we have already been asked are listed in the Solar School. Please read these and if you cannot find the answer to your question then email us and we will see if we can answer the question for you. Please don't email us photos of your mechanical room and hope we can tell you what size tanks you can fit into it and where the pipes should go, our lawyers have said we cannot offer this kind of advice!

Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors

We only supply Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors. These have been designed over years of trial and error and they generally produce much more efficiently than Flat Plate Collectors in Canadian Climates. The Flat Plate Collectors used to have the advantage of being cheaper to make, and hence the initial cost seemed lower to install a system, however we can now supply Evacuated Tube Collectors at prices less than the Flat Plate Collectors.

However the big advantage is that in Cold and Cloudy Climates the evacuated tube collectors can produce many times the heat. Don't take our word for it! Look at the SRCC web site and compare test reports, they can show Evacuated Tube Collectors will produce up to 12 times the heat than a Flat Plate Collector. See the Solar School for more information.

BTU's per Day

Our collectors produce the best cost per BTU of any collectors we can find. This table shows the output of our collectors in a few different climates compared to other solar collectors. This data was produced using Retscreen which is on of the very few independent ways of accurately comparing different collectors.

When you compare other companies solar collectors ASK what the maximum power output is from the test Report?

Our collector test report shows that they have a max power output of ..... 

Read this article for a full explanation of how to compare collectors.

Even in WINTER, on a cloudy day in Feb. our evacuated tube solar collectors produce up to 50,000 BTU per day even in february!

There is a lot of misinformation around about both the tubes and Flat collectors. We have tried to be impartial and explain the advantages and disadvantages of both.

Solar Prices - General Guidelines

According to SolarBC the average cost of a Domestic Solar Hot Water System is $6700.

 This is a very broad average, a lot depends on the size of the house, how many panels you need, access from the roof to the mechanical room, condition of the roof, do you need a new water tank and/or a new hot water boiler. Only a proper quote from your local plumber can tell you.

 However as a guide line....

 Through our Installers, our panels cost about $1100 each in Calgary. The rest of the costs are tanks, piping, insulation, heat exchangers, glycol, Valves, Solar Controllers and Pumps and of course your plumbers time to install the system.

 For the DIY market, certain people will have the abilities to install the system themselves. It will involve, plumbing skill, electrical and roofing. If you are comfortable with this then maybe you can install the system yourself.

 Most other evacuated tube solar panels in Canada cost in the $1500 to $3500 range. Ask around, see how much any of our competitors charge (Apricus, Thermomax, Sunda - don't forget to ask the cost for replacement tubes?)

Visit the solar store for all prices and details

 If you find any cheaper, first ask how much energy they produce, read our newsletter on the heat produced by our Evacuated Tube Collectors. It boils down to COST PER BTU, it is OK if a panel costs more if it produces more heat. The cost per BTU calculation will help you pick the best value panel.

 More often than not, if you find a cheaper solar collector for sale, ask what the Peak Power output is in Watts! it is likely to be very low when compared to the Latitude51 Solar Collectors.