“The total amount of energy used by man in one year is the equivalent to the energy delivered by the sun to the surface of the earth in just 40 minutes.”
One of the easiest ways of harvesting this energy is by collecting it on the roofs of houses and storing it in hot water.
The running costs are very low as the energy has to be carried just a few metres, not 1000's of miles.
Solar water heating can reduce your hot water heating bills by up to 70%.
The following diagram illustrates the approximate proportion of your water that can be Solar Heated.
January to December
Typical Annual Solar Energy (Kilowatt hours / metre2)
Efficiency of Collector depending on roof angle and orientation.
(the Azimuth scale)
Efficiency reduces % as panel moves away from South facing
“Solar water heating can provide almost all of your hot water during the summer months and about a third year round. The average domestic system reduces C02 by around 350 - 400kg per year, depending on the fuel replaced.”
Source: The Energy saving trust.
“Germany is has installed up to 750,000 m2 / year as opposed to the UK's modest 25,000m2”
Source: EISTIF 2005.
The UK receives up to 60% of the solar radiation level of the equator so a solar water heating system can be very effective even in Northern Europe.