The panels themselves will need to face south-east to south-west in order to catch the maximum amount of sunlight. Most domestic installations will have the panels mounted on the roof.

You will need a hot water cylinder inside the house to store the heat generated by the panels. Many houses will already have a hot water cylinder as part of an existing hot water system. This cylinder can be replaced with a twin coil cylinder for greatest effect or reused by using a coil which fits in place of the electric immersion. Coils are available with electric immersion attachments so you can keep the functionality.

The solar circuit will be controlled by an electric controller usually mounted in the airing cupboard. This will detect when the panels are producing heat and transfer it to the cyliner.

 

There are currently government grant schemes in place to claim back some of the costs of installing solar equipment. The problem is that these schemes are self funding, meaning in order to be part of them both distributers and installers are required to pay extremely high fees, which will of course affect the costs of components and installation.

We have taken the decision to supply equipment from a company who are not part of a grant scheme. This means you cannot apply for a grant for installation of our equipment. However the difference in costs between us and a company who are registered should more than make up for any grant you could be awarded and you certainly won't be compramising on quality.

There is still money to be saved however. By having us install your system you will be eligible for a 5% VAT rate on all components and installation instead of the normal 17.5% VAT.

 

We can link solar panels with combi boiler systems provided the combi boiler can accept pre-heated hot water. You will still require a hot water cylinder to store the heat from the solar panels. The hot water from the cylinder will be linked into the existing combi system using a special valve.

 

We currently source all our solar equipment from a company called Navitron. You can visit their website here for further information and advice.

 

We only use high quality equipment which will be expected to last in excess of 25 years. We're not going to make and empty promises that nothing unexpected will ever go wrong with your solar equipment or installation although we do try our best to avoid complications. We will however promise to be on hand to deal with any problems as they arise.

We take our after care service very seriously and believe in treating our customers honestly and with respect. We will act as your first and only point of call if you do have problems and will take full responsibility for repairing any faults with your system in the first three years. After this period we will still be on hand for servicing and repair work and we still won't make a charge unless we feel it's fair to do so.

 

Yes you can! If you're comfortable doing so you can purchase D.I.Y. solar kits from us or directly from Navitron. We can give any advice you may need or you can go on a training course with Navitron to learn everything you will need to know.

 

Pembrokeshire recieves an average of 1,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy per square metre every year, (apparently!). In real terms this equates to around 50-60% of your annual hot water requirement. In the winter months you will need to top up the hot water in the cylinder using conventional means.

It will make no difference how many people live in your household or how much hot water you use on average as we will match the number of solar panels you have to your hot water usage.

 

You will start saving money on your heating bills straight away once the equipment is installed! It's impossible to say exactly how long the payback period is for solar equipment will be as there are so many factors that affect how much it costs to heat water in an average household as well as unpredictable rises in oil, gas and electricity prices.

If you can work out how much it costs you currently to heat your water you can get an idea of payback periods from this calculator.

At a very rough guestimate we would say between 3 and 8 years would be average.

 

Solar panels are treated in the same way as roof windows which mean you currently don't need to apply for planning permission to erect solar panels unless you live in a listed building or inside the national parks.

You can get further information on planning from the Pembrokeshire county council website here.