EEVblog 1630 - Solar Panels for Water Pre-Heating?

[EEVblog]

eBay auction: #

For example: where my father lives nobody has solar panels. Not because they don't want to as the roof is at the perfect angle for solar panels, but because the state of the roofs is too poor (note: as typical for the NL, these homes are build in series so all the home in the street are identical where it comes to construction and age).

Different argument entirely. We are talking about houses that already have solar panels, and whether or not it is better to simply find some space to fit a few more panels, or to install a complex piping system to cool down the existing ones to improve the efficiency.

[coppice]

That is a semi-detached house, and they can only use their half of the roof. The panel of their own roof they haven't used appears to be facing away from the sun, so it would be useless at the UK's latitude.

[tszaboo]

That is a semi-detached house, and they can only use their half of the roof. The panel of their own roof they haven't used appears to be facing away from the sun, so it would be useless at the UK's latitude.

Most of the UK is the same latitude as here, not useless, 60% of south facing (see above), probably 80% as good as the east or west facing. There is a second shed. There is a second roof a bit lower. Plenty of space.
100% of the time it comes down to: "But I dont wanna install panels"

[coppice]

That is a semi-detached house, and they can only use their half of the roof. The panel of their own roof they haven't used appears to be facing away from the sun, so it would be useless at the UK's latitude.

Most of the UK is the same latitude as here, not useless, 60% of south facing (see above), probably 80% as good as the east or west facing. There is a second shed. There is a second roof a bit lower. Plenty of space.
100% of the time it comes down to: "But I dont wanna install panels"

Putting panel on a shed seems a bit desperate, considering how flimsy most sheds are. The strip of lower roof on the left is probably in shadow a lot of the time. They usually are. That reduces the benefit.

i think they would have got more out of half width panels to use the last bit of the main roof space on the left hand side in the picture. Half width, half length, and triangular panels wouid allow a lot of fill-in on a typical UK roof, but you don't see them. Unless people live in a simple terraced house the utilisation of their roof is considerably limited by the types of panel available. That is something solar tiles might be a lot better for, if someone can eventually provide them in an effective form.

[nctnico]

eBay auction: #

For example: where my father lives nobody has solar panels. Not because they don't want to as the roof is at the perfect angle for solar panels, but because the state of the roofs is too poor (note: as typical for the NL, these homes are build in series so all the home in the street are identical where it comes to construction and age).

Different argument entirely. We are talking about houses that already have solar panels, and whether or not it is better to simply find some space to fit a few more panels, or to install a complex piping system to cool down the existing ones to improve the efficiency.

Actually you don't need a super complex piping system to just cool solar panels. You can buy a misting system for a few dollars which sources water from your tap water supply. https://aliexpress.com/item/1005007122639641.html Put it under your solar panels and done. The ROI depends on how much the misting system costs to operate in terms of tap water use. For hot water a seperate system with tubes + collectors is likely a better (more cost effective) option.