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The future of heating.....


JohnM
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Paul, reading your post it does go some way into a criticism of what I wrote I believe.  I am very pro solar but the points I mentioned maybe rare in the case of broken tubes in hailstorms they do happen. I was merely pointing this out and could name two different people who have had this happen and one, twice on separate occasions. Yep, talk about unlucky but that is the reason for looking a roller blind type of affair as a shield.

Regarding the overheating, I can't see how the expansion vessel can help that much although I do understand the principle of the higher pressure higher boiling point, it was actually damage to the manifold connections that I meant and again the same blind would work to block out the light if not in residence and utilising the heat.  Good to hear your heating results though.

I look at posting on forums as a guide, mentioning things that people should at least be aware of, like your friends being sold a system of expensive geothermal to feed radiators. If they had been on here I would have mentioned it being a bad idea.

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As you know TP, we have solar tubes to heat our pool. They are at ground level. 50 yubes shown here

[URL=http://s47.photobucket.com/user/Jonzjob/media/29/50%20tubes%202_zpsigpzkjhd.jpg.html][IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jonzjob/29/50%20tubes%202_zpsigpzkjhd.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

In the winter I cover them. The covers were got from Atwools, Whitminster, just outside Gloucester. Ordered from and sent to us here. The material is the same heavy stuff used on tauntliner artic trucks and the channel they are mounted in is the stuff used on caravans for the awning. The reason for covering them in the winter is that the slightest brightness in the day and they produce enough heat to switch the system on. That's the pool and the solar pumps and it tries to heat the pool. There isn't enough there to do so so all it does is waste electricity. In the summer we can use it to ensure that the water doesn't get above 30ºC and they get covered when we go away. That's to protect against the possibility of a power cut and the system overheating. It works.

[URL=http://s47.photobucket.com/user/Jonzjob/media/29/Solar%20tubes%20covered%202_zpsejklqwwf.jpg.html][IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jonzjob/29/Solar%20tubes%20covered%202_zpsejklqwwf.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I had thought of having the auto roller blinds, but when I was looking to do the covering I couldn't find anything in the auto range. When these covers get a bit old and worn I will look again. That may well take a while as they are quite tough!

Just as a matter of interest on the Navitron forum there is a sub forum for solar cooking. Quite tongue in cheek and the folk on there do silly things like cook a curry or boil an egg in the tubes [8-)] The tubes themselves never actually see the water they are heating. This is how they work

And as they are only heating a very small amount of water they are quicker than a flat panel that is full of liquid.

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Thanks Jonz, that illustrates my point beautifully, a sensible precaution to protect the investment.  I dream of installing underfloor heating pipes to utilise the system when pool is closed, well it's on the long long list of to do's generally right after all the Mrs TP jobs so you see the problem [;-)]

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I forgot to say earlier that we also have 4 sq metres of panel just in front of the house to heat the domestic hot water. They were installed either when or just after the house was built in 1982 and do a wonderful job for the HW but they wouldn't do enough enough for the under floor me-thinks?

[URL=http://s47.photobucket.com/user/Jonzjob/media/29/IMG_0117_zpshdnplixm.jpg.html][IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jonzjob/29/IMG_0117_zpshdnplixm.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I like the  idea of being at ground level too. It makes them dead easy to clean and the sky is clear in front of them. I also like the stone surround.

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