As I write this it is a beautiful sunny day outside and I'm waiting for our solar panel hot water booster to heat the water hot enough for a shower at no cost !
We have a photo voltaic system on the roof and when there is excess electricity produced then it diverts the excess energy to heat the water in the hot water tank.
At present the government's feed in tariff presumes that you keep 50% of the energy you produce for your own use but if you are out during the day then you are unlikely to use that much so it all goes into the National Grid but you are only paid for half of it. By using some of the energy produced to heat the hot water we can keep some of the energy and use it when we need it.
Of course, this system means that sometimes it can be hard to get a shower when you want one, as the water is more likely to be hot in the afternoon than the morning. However, really sunny days heat the water to such a temperature that it is still hot in the morning the following day as the hot water tank is well-insulated.
Over the four years that we have had the system we have rarely had to turn on the hot water between April and September and I think we have saved well over the £400 the system has cost us.
If you have the chance to get a solar hot water system fitted and would whole heartedly recommend it !
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