Here Comes the Sun: A Field Trial of Solar Water Heating Systems (2011)

Published by the UK’s Energy Savings Trust, this report provides results from the largest ever independent trial of solar water heating systems in the UK and Ireland. The Trust’s field trial examined how solar water heating technology performs and the potential for savings on carbon and energy bills in 88 geographically diverse sites across the region.

The report finds that solar water heating systems do have the potential to work well in the UK and Ireland, but only when installed properly and controlled adequately. Although it can potentially provide 60% of a household’s hot water, if not properly configured the contribution will be as low as 9%.

With correct installation, however, solar water heating systems can save £55 a year when replacing gas, and £80 a year when replacing electric immersion heating. This corresponds with carbon savings of 230kg for replacing gas and 510kg for electric immersion heating. These figures qualify the survey results that 84% of UK and Ireland consumers are satisfied with their solar water heating systems, and 55% are very satisfied. The Energy Savings Trust advocates feeding its results into industry standards to further improve consumer experience in the region

Author: Energy Saving Trust

Year: 2011

Pages: 23

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