Solar thermal panels are a type of solar panel that uses energy from the sun to create hot water for your home. The technology behind them is older and they tend to be less common than their electricity generating cousins.
Could you run your home using solar thermal to provide all your hot water? Honestly the answer is “it depends”. Solar thermal relies on heat generated from the sun, so if you have high hot water demands in the middle of the day and you use solar thermal then sure, you could get most of your hot water this way.
Solar thermal works great in commercial building for this reason, since the staff tend to go home at 5pm, meaning there is little to no hot water demand in the evening for instance. However, your system is generally designed to provide only as much as you’ll use, so you could end up with an overheated system if you aren’t careful and it is producing more heat than it can dissipate.
We have written some helpful guides, to answer some more questions you might have about the wonderful world of solar!
The increase of renewable energy in residential houses has been one of the biggest changes in the UK in the last 10 years.
Winter is here and it’s difficult to avoid wondering if solar panels can produce an effective amount of energy for your home in the cold
We’ve done some quick maths to give you an idea of how much energy you can expect to create.
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