Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Feb 16, 2015 10:52 pm I'm currently researching which hot water system to get and will need to make up my mind soon. It seems there are a lot of options out there and it's hard to find good reviews. So I'm hoping to get some opinions and experiences here. So, what HWS have you got? Are you happy with it? What sort of problems have you had, if any? How's the after sales service? Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 2Feb 17, 2015 12:24 am Hi trixee, Just to throw a spanner in the works, we're going with 5Kw PV panels with heat pump, no solar HWS at all Custom build Northern NSW viewtopic.php?f=31&t=72217 Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 3Feb 17, 2015 12:32 am Hi TraceyWayne - thanks for that. I've been looking at the Siddons heat pump too, but I'm not sure if it would be suitable for here. The warranty fine print says that the warranty is voided if the temperature gets above 45C, which even though it doesn't happen very often, it's getting hotter and temps >45 wouldn't be at all surprising. Not sure if this is a thing with all heat pumps. Does it get that hot where you are? Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 4Feb 17, 2015 12:45 am We went with an evacuated glass tube system but works like a normal hot water system 'solar rex' it's apparently designed for OB and off grid people <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=62083">viewtopic.php?t=62083</a><!-- l --> Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 6Feb 17, 2015 1:14 am I've got a 300L chromagen solar hws with electric booster. For us it has been great but from all of the bad reviews I think we have been lucky that we haven't had any issues. I think the 300L tank size is perfect, wouldn't go any smaller. We turn the electric booster off over summer and never run out of hot water. I would have preferred a system with the tank on the roof instead of the ground but they seem to cost a bit more! Gas boosters seem to be a more economical choice in the long run too. Plenty of decent brands out there, I think it was an Edwards system that I was settled on but the builder wanted way too much to supply and install it! Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 7Feb 17, 2015 8:57 am I am getting an undersized tank solar hot water system with one collector with gas booster. We questioned Simonds Homes regarding the tank size and was told that is what they put in all of their houses whether there are 2 bedrooms or many bedrooms in huge houses. The cheapish system they provide it suited for 2 persons because of the smallish tank size, not a family. We priced an upgrade and it was rediculous price. We left the standard solar gas boosted system included as is as there is only going to be 2 of us in the house. It should be sized to the number of bedrooms your house will have as that determines number of occupants possible. For example a 3 bedroom house should be sized regarding hot water tank size for 6 persons. Check Rheece Plumbing site for some information. Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 8Feb 17, 2015 6:56 pm We went with a Apricus 315 litre GL tank and 30 evacuated tubes. It is electrically boosted, but haven't got the off peak meter installed yet. Installed one day, hot water the next day without any boosting.... in fact you could feel the water warming up after around an hour or so. I did think about gas boosting, but realised that it boosts it nearly all the time, as the water has to be boosted to 70+ degrees with gas systems, as normally they are instant heat type, so the higher temperature boost to prevent legionalla in a shorter time. Surprisingly at the time we got it the 315 litre tank was cheaper than the 250 litre tank. We did think about the stainless tank, but more than $1000 more for that put us off. Evacuated Tubes systems are for everyone, not just OB and off gridders. People are often worried about the glass tubes being broken by hail and the like, but they are actually less likely to get damaged due to the cylindrical nature of them, and hail not striking square on. With ET systems, you can break a tube, and you won't lose any water. You can replace the tube yourself if you want to climb on to your roof. Our long term plan is to eventually go completely off grid, but that's a while off for us just yet, so in the mean time we got a system with 26 x 250w panels up on the roof. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 9Feb 17, 2015 8:44 pm Hey trixee, We'll be in Northern NSW so not very likely to exceed 45 so not worried about that, more concerned at the cyclone tracking towards atm to be honest, we're in the NT Custom build Northern NSW viewtopic.php?f=31&t=72217 Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 10Feb 17, 2015 9:06 pm Apricus 315 litre glass lined tank evacuated tubes with Gas booster would have been my choice for 3 bedroom house, northern aspect for roof in Melbourne. Instead I am getting inferior 250 litre single collector system with gas booster. Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 11Feb 17, 2015 9:31 pm Are you installing solar PV as well? If so, have you considered using PV-T panels? It combines PV electricity generation on top, with thermal component for hot water or a heat exchanger fluid. A significant advantage of PV-T is that the fluid acts as a heatsink, drawing heat away from the photovoltaic electricity component which improves panel efficiency substantially. Not only that but it reduces the overall amount of stuff on the roof.
I personally probably would not go with a purely heat pump unit just because it seems crazy to me to not utilise the copious amount of solar energy we are so fortunate to have. They are also a bit noisy. They're basically a non-inverter air conditioner that runs whenever it wants to. Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 12Feb 17, 2015 9:33 pm But to answer your question directly, we currently have an Edwards Solar (now Rheem) 315L stainless steel roof top tank, thermostat controlled 1.8kW electric boost element. It's about 10 years old but looks to be in very good condition. Never missed a beat. We don't have TMVs so the water is scorching hot! Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 13Feb 17, 2015 10:17 pm goody59 I am getting an undersized tank solar hot water system with one collector with gas booster. We questioned Simonds Homes regarding the tank size and was told that is what they put in all of their houses whether there are 2 bedrooms or many bedrooms in huge houses. The cheapish system they provide it suited for 2 persons because of the smallish tank size, not a family. We priced an upgrade and it was rediculous price. We left the standard solar gas boosted system included as is as there is only going to be 2 of us in the house. It should be sized to the number of bedrooms your house will have as that determines number of occupants possible. For example a 3 bedroom house should be sized regarding hot water tank size for 6 persons. Check Rheece Plumbing site for some information. Manufacturers have a minimum panel number recommendation for different areas. From memory, you are building in Melbourne metro and you will find that the recommendation is for two panels, not one. One panel is inadequate. It is up to the integrity of the builder as to what they fit as there is no regulatory requirement to meet the manufacturers recommendation the last time I checked and this is why people need to carefully examine their contract before signing. Once you sign, you have no power. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 14Feb 18, 2015 1:01 am A lot of options here, interesting that everyone has something completely different. Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 15Feb 18, 2015 6:08 am I really love the idea of pv t panels. They are hard to find though. I only know of one company that provides them. Has any one got them? Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 16Feb 18, 2015 9:09 am SaveH2O goody59 I am getting an undersized tank solar hot water system with one collector with gas booster. We questioned Simonds Homes regarding the tank size and was told that is what they put in all of their houses whether there are 2 bedrooms or many bedrooms in huge houses. The cheapish system they provide it suited for 2 persons because of the smallish tank size, not a family. We priced an upgrade and it was rediculous price. We left the standard solar gas boosted system included as is as there is only going to be 2 of us in the house. It should be sized to the number of bedrooms your house will have as that determines number of occupants possible. For example a 3 bedroom house should be sized regarding hot water tank size for 6 persons. Check Rheece Plumbing site for some information. Manufacturers have a minimum panel number recommendation for different areas. From memory, you are building in Melbourne metro and you will find that the recommendation is for two panels, not one. One panel is inadequate. It is up to the integrity of the builder as to what they fit as there is no regulatory requirement to meet the manufacturers recommendation the last time I checked and this is why people need to carefully examine their contract before signing. Once you sign, you have no power. You are correct and it was a sticking point for me but Simonds weren't going to budge on their ridiculous upgrade cost so I just caved in because everything else about the house fitted the criteria we were seeking. There are always sticking points with volume builders as they are so inflexible unless you want to pay a premium price for changes. I believe dealings with any volume builder would be similar. Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 17Feb 18, 2015 10:23 am I have a close coupled solar hot water system (Solar Hart) with 2 panels on my north facing roof (in Adelaide). The first unit lasted nearly 30 years. during that time the tank was replaced once and the anodes replaced every 5 years. I only replaced it (with another identical unit) when the original solar panels developed a very small leak. I have been very satisfied with the amount of hot water I get out of it. The electrical booster is normally switched off except for about 4 months during winter. The exception is when I have visitors staying with me. At these times I turn the booster on. My observations are that for 2 people, 2 off solar panels will provide hot water for more than half the year. If there is a house full of teenagers that each take 20 minute showers then 3 off solar panels would be required as a minimum. Even then you may still need to switch on the electric booster. (My booster is connected to K tariff which is less than half the price of normal electricity) Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 18Feb 18, 2015 10:42 am Beetaloo (My booster is connected to K tariff which is less than half the price of normal electricity) Don't you just love the different names the different supplier give for the tariffs ? In Queensland I'm guessing the equivalent tariff would be tariff 31. Tariff 31 is about half the price of peak tariff, but is only available for certain hours overnight... often around 23:00 till about 06:00 (which varies according to your supplier). Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 19Feb 18, 2015 1:16 pm yvonneh I really love the idea of pv t panels. They are hard to find though. I only know of one company that provides them. Has any one got them? I have a good working relationship with these guys http://solimpeks.com.au/products/pvt-collectors/ also these (roof tile with integrated PV, Pv-T) http://tractile.com.au/TractileProducts ... Tiles.aspx Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Which Solar HWS have you got? 20Feb 18, 2015 6:26 pm Are you able to provide what sort of pricing to expect on these even as a percentage over and above normal pv plus shws? Happy to pm you too! If so what were the "special circumstances" under which it was granted? "Note: If the development consent is for 'dual occupancy' an owner-builder permit can only be… 0 13968 Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 39233 I looked into it a few years ago and my conclusion was to just build a carport that will support panels and get a system installed separately. The company I looked at had… 1 6455 |