Solar Thermal Prices

Written-by

Richard Burdett

Reviewed-by

Richard Burdett

Updated on

Apr 05, 2023

Solar Thermal Prices

If you are now considering using the sun’s heat in the form of solar energy in your home then you may well now be considering having a solar thermal energy system installed. Indeed you may now even be looking at solar thermal prices to see if this will make a sound economic investment as well as making a positive contribution towards reducing your carbon footprint. Solar thermal energy systems use the sun’s heat to warm your domestic hot water. There are several advantages to having this system installed. Firstly, it will provide you with hot water throughout the year. Secondly, after your initial outlay of having the system installed the hot water that it produces is free. Finally, of course, it is environmentally friendly. Solar thermal energy systems work by the use of panels that are fitted to your home which collect the sun’s heat and transfer this via pipes to a hot water cylinder. The panels come in two forms: evacuated tubes and flat plat collectors which are typically fitted to the roof of a house. There are several things to consider when you are investigating solar thermal prices. The first of these is to think about your particular location as not all parts of the country receive the same amounts of sunlight and this can alter dramatically the efficiency rating of your system. This in turn will impact on how the saving that you might be able to make in terms of the hot water that the system produces. Normally you will need about five square metres of roof space to have enough panel capacity for the system to work efficiently. You will also need enough space in your home to have a hot water storage cylinder installed. Prices for these systems vary but generally speaking they fall between £3,000 - £5,000. For this you should expect the system to provide you with all your hot water during the summer months but this will probably not meet all your hot water needs during the colder winter months. Don’t forget that financial help may be available to you in the form of the government’s Renewable Energy Incentive in the form of a subsidy providing your property meets certain requirements. If you have not already done so then you should have your house assessed under the Green Deal Assessment scheme. One advantage of solar thermal systems over more conventional systems is that they are generally very low maintenance. You should typically look to have your system serviced around every four to five years to ensure it is working efficiently. When considering solar thermal prices you will no doubt be wondering how much this system will save you on your domestic energy bills. This will vary depending upon the type of system you have installed as well as how efficient it is. However, you should look to be saving around £65 per year if you are replacing a gas-based system and around £75 per year if you are replacing an electric system.