Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Mar 18, 2015 4:22 pm Hi All, Please refer to below images which illustrate the proposed location of the SHW Panel (Red Arrows), to where I would like it located (Green Arrows). The reason I would like this moved is to allow for future Solar Panels to be installed on the North Facing part of the main roof, taking full advantage of this real estate. The builder has advised the panel can physically fit in the new location (Green Arrows), however they will not be able to do so as the upper level of the house will be blocking afternoon sun from hitting the panel. They've advised this is against manufacturer's installation requirements and as such won't be able to do so. As such my questions are as follows: - Is there any government regulation which prevents the panel being installed on the alfresco roof? - Is the builder really not allowed to install it at tis location because of manufacturers instructions? - From a manufacturers point of view and their installation instructions. I don't see having the panel installed where I would like will be detrimental or cause damage to the product. I think it won't be effective in the afternoon in operation given the shadow, which in turn will just mean the gas booster will work more in its stead. Builders claim that their floor plans are six star energy compliant, when in the ideal orientation. What is this ideal orientation? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ TIA Re: Location of Solar Hot Water Panel. Ideal House Orientati 2Mar 18, 2015 4:31 pm If you were using Evacuated Tube system, you could easily get away with that shade issue. A few years ago when I first got ET system put on, they said they had a demo system in place on a SOUTH facing roof in Melbourne, and they still got hot water out of it. Obviously not an ideal system. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Location of Solar Hot Water Panel. Ideal House Orientati 3Mar 18, 2015 5:06 pm bpratt If you were using Evacuated Tube system, you could easily get away with that shade issue. A few years ago when I first got ET system put on, they said they had a demo system in place on a SOUTH facing roof in Melbourne, and they still got hot water out of it. Obviously not an ideal system. Thanks bpratt. Interesting product! Certainly seem more effective and efficient given the round design of the tubes in capturing the heat energy. From a builders perspective though do they care what unit they place on the house anyway? Manufacturers websites recommend bigger units (More panels and greater storage tanks) for large homes with a greater number of bedrooms. Do the builders even take this into account and upsize the unit accordingly, or do they just install the cheapest and smallest one and as the owner you request to upgrade to a larger unit? It seems like a token effort to tick off a box by builders and nothing else. Are there rules and regulations around what needs to be done? bpratt if you're ok to can you share the specs of the unit you installed and costs? TIA Re: Location of Solar Hot Water Panel. Ideal House Orientati 4Mar 18, 2015 6:12 pm siapao bpratt If you were using Evacuated Tube system, you could easily get away with that shade issue. A few years ago when I first got ET system put on, they said they had a demo system in place on a SOUTH facing roof in Melbourne, and they still got hot water out of it. Obviously not an ideal system. Thanks bpratt. Interesting product! Certainly seem more effective and efficient given the round design of the tubes in capturing the heat energy. From a builders perspective though do they care what unit they place on the house anyway? Manufacturers websites recommend bigger units (More panels and greater storage tanks) for large homes with a greater number of bedrooms. Do the builders even take this into account and upsize the unit accordingly, or do they just install the cheapest and smallest one and as the owner you request to upgrade to a larger unit? It seems like a token effort to tick off a box by builders and nothing else. Are there rules and regulations around what needs to be done? bpratt if you're ok to can you share the specs of the unit you installed and costs? TIA Simonds Homes offer same solar HWS for all their homes. System sized only for 2 people no matter how many bedrooms they had in their design. I looked at an upgrade but it was priced over $2000 more for a unit that would not cost even $500 more. I just left the standard inclusion without upgrade. The systems should be sized to the number of bedrooms not just 2 house occupant usage. It is a joke. Re: Location of Solar Hot Water Panel. Ideal House Orientati 5Mar 18, 2015 8:12 pm The main reason for solar HWS panels facing north is to maximise their efficiency during mid seasons. (Autumn & Spring & possibly on a sunny winters day). The solar panels will work fine during summer on any elevation. In addition shading needs to be considered because when the panels are shaded they will not work at all. This may result in a trade off between orientation and minimising shading. There is no general one size fits all answer. Each site and building needs to be analysed individually. Re: Location of Solar Hot Water Panel. Ideal House Orientati 7Mar 18, 2015 11:50 pm The ideal home orientation is to face your living areas north, as these will be warmer in winter (bedrooms can be cooler, as you're under blankets, & the body likes to be a bit cooler while we sleep). A large proportion of your glazing should face north, to help with winter heating by the sun. With lower levels of southern & eastern glazing to help with summer cooling (by cross-ventilation). Western windows should be eliminated, or at least be minimised, as these lead to a lot of excess summer heating. Correctly orientating your house can make a significant impact on your comfort, & on your heating & cooling bills. Have a good read of the site below (a government site for efficient house design) & get educated (unfortunately there's plenty of builders that need to be better educated in this field). http://yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation Re: Location of Solar Hot Water Panel. Ideal House Orientati 8Mar 19, 2015 12:25 am As for the solar SV, people's thoughts on orientation have changed in the last couple of years. Previously it was best to orientate your panels north, as this would give you the highest production throughout the year. Any excess electricity could be sold back to the grid at a very healthy rate. But this feed-in-tarriff (FIT) has been greatly reduced in recent years. Now it is no longer economically advantageous to put in a large solar system, & export a large amounts of power back to the grid (for a mere 8c/kWh, or less). Economically, it is now much wiser to size a system to offset your daytime usage (saving up to 30c/kWh off your bill), & to orientate your panels, not for maximum production, but for maximum time of generation. So, instead of orientating panels north, many people are splitting their panels, & facing them east & west. The eastern panels will generate more in the morning, while the western panels will generate more in the afternoon. The western panels are particularly important for many people, as these can offset power used in the afternoon, once the kids come home from school, & the TV's, computers & AC are turned on. So, I'd do a bit more research on solar PV. You really need to know how your family uses electricity, to correctly size a PV system, & correctly orientate it. Hard to tell, but looking at your roof, there seems to be a fair bit of N & S. You may want to split your panels N & W, for reasonable morning production, good midday production & good afternoon production. Just remember, depending on your location, for each kWh exported to the grid, you may save up to 8c. While for each kWh you produce & use, you will save up to 30c (whatever the rate you pay for your power), resulting in a much shorter payback time. As for the SHW, some people actually like W facing panels/tubes. As it will reach highest temperature in the afternoon, just in time for kid's baths, cooking etc. Re: Location of Solar Hot Water Panel. Ideal House Orientati 9Mar 20, 2015 10:16 pm Apricus 30 tube, 315 litre GL tank (not stainless steel). supplied and installed for I think $4400. A 250 litre would have been more than sufficient for 2 people, but the larger tank was cheaper than the smaller one ! Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Location of Solar Hot Water Panel. Ideal House Orientati 10Mar 31, 2015 10:56 am To calculate how orientation will effect the efficiency of a SHW system (or a PV system), use a solar insolation calculator (or solar irradiance calculator). Here's an interesting one, http://solarelectricityhandbook.com/sol ... iance.html Re: Location of Solar Hot Water Panel. Ideal House Orientati 11Apr 01, 2015 9:48 am I visited one of my neighbours last night and noticed that they had shade cloth over their north facing solar panels. Their comment was the water got too hot during summer but it was nearly time to remove the shade cloth for autumn/winter. Re: Location of Solar Hot Water Panel. Ideal House Orientati 12Apr 01, 2015 9:55 am Quote: Their comment was the water got too hot during summer but it was nearly time to remove the shade cloth for autumn/winter. Haha, a lot of people would love to have that problem Beetaloo! If you don't mind ddaroch, I'll post that link in the sustainability sticky just above this thread. Good find. Stewie the sun master is the solar heating to "warm" the water in the tank the S26 is your hot water system which will heat the water (25 degrees?) so with both turned on you… 2 12393 I want to build a decking to the drawn shape outlined in black. The problem is how close can I build to the gas hot water unit? 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