R-Volt Solar Panels - Think GB / Systovi

digital_dancer wrote: »

Hi,

I have been looking at Solar Panels on and off for a few years.

A French manufacturer caled Systovi has developed 900W panels (250W from the Sun and 650W from Aero Voltanic methods, not sure what that is).

A UK based company called Think GB (you can look up the company via Google) has the contract from Systovi to provide these panels to UK homeowners.

A link to Systovi's brochure which has more technical information which is found on their website

My questions are, has anyone ever dealt with Think GB, are they trustworthy?

What are your opinions in regards to this type of Solar technology as opposed to the current regular PV Solar Panels?

Thanks for your time.

Hi & Welcome to the forum ....

Just looked at the product and my first impression is that I like the idea, however, I'd really need to see the panel thermal performance specifications and a related test procedure before going much further ....

The system looks to be a hybrid of solar PV with MHRV. The panels seem to be of box section construction with a standard glazed pv. The basic idea is to use a MHRV system to force air through the panel boxes and then exchange the heat into the house through ventilation pipes.

It's a sound idea, but my initial worries would revolve around ...

(i) - If the airflow isn't sufficient to cool the air temperature in the box section to a level comparable to a normal roof mounted panel when exposed to high irradiation (particularly during the summer) then the pv performance will be compromised.

(ii) - If the box section isn't adequately insulated there will be a considerable heat-loss in the winter, possibly in the region of 10W/sqm of panel face per degree C difference. In a situation where you would be looking to provide domestic space heating by collecting from the panels at 22C in a winter average daytime ambient of 7C we have deltaT-15, so with base heat loss being 150W/sqm (15x10) you'd need irradiation levels of around 250W/sqm to deliver 2.5kW.t of heating in addition to around 1kW of electricity from a ~4kWp (/25sqm) system .... for information, a 4kWp system generating over 1kW for extended periods in winter months is pretty rare.

(iii) - To utilise the heat collected effectively, there'd be considerable disruption inside the property which would likely involve a degree of redecoration.

As mentioned earlier, I like the basic idea, it's a kind of semi-passive Trombe wall, however, everything will depend on the price relative to alternative solutions .... for example, if you bought a 4kWp pv system and a top spec reversible Air/Air heat-pump for below £6.5k you'd probably achieve exactly the same results without the internal upheaval .... so there's the target to put to the supplier - if it's considerably more expensive (which it will be!.. ) and/or not considerably more highly insulated, even though I like the idea, I'd walk away ...

HTH
Z

DeeEssPea wrote: »

Hi, just wondered if you decided to go for the systovi system, digital_dancer? We have signed up to get it bit I'm having trouble finding reviews of it, probably because it's a new technology. I'd love to know how much it actually save homeowners when it comes to electricity and heating costs. ☺

Hi & welcome to the forum ...

If you can supply details of the size (kWp & sqm), orientation and approx geographical location of the system you've ordered along with the price and the supplier's performance predictions then you'll likely get some feedback & an idea of what you're looking for.

HTH
Z