Entries Tagged 'Frequently Asked Questions' ↓

In most cases, no. Evacuated tube solar panels are considered in much the same way as roof windows.

Unless you live in a heritage area, such as Batter Point, or unless your building is heritage listed, then you will not require planning permission.

Yes, the system uses very little power (intermittent 14 watt).

However the automatic temperature monitor (controller) plugs into a 240 volt power outlet, so your 12 volt system will need an inverter for this to operate.

This is a common query and one that needs explanation.

Heating a house is a lot larger task than heating an insulated cylinder of water.

‘Hydronic’ space heating is possible, but not very viable unless integrated with another technology – the problem being, that space heating is mostly required in Winter and at night, precisely at the wrong times of year and day!

These factors mean that an enormous volume of hot water storage (several thousand litres) would be necessary for space heating purposes, and this puts space heating out of the question.

In practice you can provide a significant amount of supplementary heat in the spring and autumn (and some people have implemented such systems). You would also need to fit many more solar tubes to your roof.

By contrast, solar water heating is effective even in Winter, as the amount of heat required is considerably less than that required to heat a house and it can be effectively stored throughout the night for use the next day.