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This is a follow up to the article Solar Hot Water – The Facts, which will take you through choosing and installing a system for your home.

Since 2006, new homes in Spain should have been fitted with the necessary plumbing to connect a solar system to your hot water supply. This makes it relatively easy to install for the DIY enthusiast.

Is solar hot water a good investment for you?

If you buy a good quality system, here in Tenerife, it can provide 100 per cent of your hot water needs for most of the time. The following table lists the main benefits of the gravity fed (thermosyphon) systems suitable for most homes in Tenerife.

Water heating comparison table

Electric vs. Gas Solar

Pay 100 per cent of your hot water bill / Eliminate 85-100 per cent of your hot water bill

Constantly rising yearly utility bills / Constantly increasing savings

No increased value to your home / Adds value to your home

Monthly payments for hot water with no return on your investment on your investment  / Will pay for itself and give a return

Creates pollution  Uses non-polluting free solar energy

Electric heaters don't work during blackouts (not unheard-of here in Tenerife!). Cold showers! / Needs no energy to run. Works even during blackouts!

Gas heaters may run out of gas.  Cylinders to replace / Needs no energy to run. No inconvenience of changing cylinders

Tough regulations brought in by the Spanish government have ensured that the new high-tech systems such as this one from Constante, are efficient, reliable and safe. This system, perfect for our climate here in Tenerife, uses gravity to circulate the water, so no power supply is needed. The large water tank is well insulated and provides far more available hot water than a conventional gas or electric heater, great for those of us who like a bath with more than six inches of water! Just remember to take your bath early enough to allow the panel to heat some more water.

So why doesn’t everyone have one? The answer is firstly, cost. A good electric heater will cost you about €200, a gas heater, about €400 and a good solar heater, about €1,500. Secondly, solar energy does not have an entirely good track record over here. Some systems fitted in the 70s and 80s were poorly designed and badly installed. That said, there are systems over here which have been giving good service for 25 years or more.

Next edition: Part2

Useful vocabulary

Hot water  /  agua caliente

Solar panel  /  collector captador solar

Stand / soporte

Thermosyphon / termosifon

Water tank / acumulador

Pressure release valve /  válvula de seguridad solar

If you have any questions on solar hot water systems or any other DIY topic, you can contact Robert on 922 814 073, mobile 605 469 352 or email rjmcalees@yahoo.com.

This article appears in the print edition 624 of Island Connections

Gallery: Solar water heating

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