Solar panels and combi boiler - feasible?

ONly economically viable if not using Gas - and as you are using a combi assuming you must be on gas .. so not really going to save anything.
As cardew stated the combi is the biggest issue when trying to integrate with solar HW.

I had a solar hot water system installed last year. It cost £6000!! This means that payback won't be complete for about 15 years.

I still think it was worth it because of the long term effect on the environment.

My solar system IS connected to my combi boiler and works very well. What happens is; if the water in the hot storage tank is as hot or hotter than the temperature I ask the system to supply hot water to the taps (i've got mine set at 50 C) then the hot water goes straight to the hot tap. If the temperature is lower than 50 C then the system adds cold water to the hot on its way to the combi boiler, supplying the combi with water at 25 C, the combi then heats it up before passing it on to the hot taps. The combi uses much less energy to heat the water from 25 C to hot than to heat from 4 C (the temperature of the incoming mains). Combis don't like incoming water much hotter than 25 C, which is why the sytem adds cold on its way down.

To answer the other part of your question, yes, you do have to have a hot water tank, but it's a very specialised, pressurised tank that has to be supplied and installed with the solar system. Mine takes up the bottom half of what used to be my airing cupboard.

I'd be glad to answer any other questions about my solar sytem, if anyone wants to know anything.

Domestic solar or wind energy solutions are not about money saving. They are more a social conscience decision to improve the environment.

In years to come, these poeple will be considered pioneers of their day as I guess the future will have each householder responsible for generating a proportion of their own energy needs through some renewable form or other.

However, for now, today these solutions have very long payback periods. I manage a state-of-the-art building in the Midlands with over £1m of state-of-the-art PV/Solar panals and it powers around 35% of the building. It saves a few thousand pounds a month on the electric bill but shudder to think about the payback period on the panals. However, as the building is about green features, it's the cost of proving it can be done on a large scale.

Be aware that Cardew believes in half facts.
None of this is nonsense - I have explained to you before, "double glazing" sales tecniques and the rogue traders selling these systems for 7-9 thousand pounds is deplorable. DO NOT think these people are the same as heating engineers, architects, surveyors and industry professionals.
We have no desire to sell a system to anyone that would not benefit from it or (like one of the rogue traders) sell it to an 89 year old gentleman.
I would think carefully before questioning my scruples next time.

If you looked at those sitges - 1 is not commercial and the other one gives you information about payback which is not too far off the mark, a bit flowered up, but no way inconceievable.

BTW - I have no wish to advertise on this site and have never given out my company name.
We are plumbing and heating engineers, not solar panel salesman.

Once again, half facts Cardew.

My doctor gave me some advice the other day, he said I should quit smoking, but he has a vested interest in peddling his nonsense, so I will ignore it.

jonnyw wrote:

Isnt the simple way to work it out as follows:

How much interset would you get of you put the cost of installing a solar system in a deposit account?

If the interest exceeds the saving then buying the solar system never pays for itself - you would always be better off putting the money on deposit and using the interest to offset your bills.

Also if you have borrowings whether credit card mortgage overdraft etc, you have to work out whether you would be better off paying off part of your debt rather than reducing your hot water bills.

My research is that PV electricity is hopeless in economic terms. Solar hot water is a lot more marginal but still doesnt quite stack up, although its getting closer.

it's definately getting closer, even for the sceptics - but do not allow anyone to quote you more than 3,500 for an average system.

Research by Rightmove has found that 70% of Brits believe that energy efficiency is important when buying a home, and 45% are willing to pay upto £10,000 extra for an environmentally friendly home. So there is a bit more to it than lower energy bills if you believe this research - which was done for the Energy Saving Trust.
I expect the prices to decrease on materials within the next 3 years and the industry to be better regulated to exclude rogue traders and rip off merchants.

Solar in new builds is one of the best ways of using this technology, next year every new build will have to be 20% sustainable. Remember also next year, each home will have an energy rating - so look for low cost methods to improve any of this.

The easiest is better insulation - 250mm in the loft.