South Africa's leading
Solar Water Heating
Supplier
HOW DOES A SOLAR THERMAL SYSTEM WORK?
A solar thermal system consists of a number of components; a solar collector, a pump, a controller and a hot water storage tank.
The solar collector, located on the roof, collects the sun’s energy and transfers the heat to the storage tank. The storage tank allows the hot water to be stored until it is used at night or in the morning.
WHAT IS THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A SOLAR SYSTEM?
The life expectancy of a solar system is more than 20 years.
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE PAYBACK FOR A SOLAR THERMAL SYSTEM?
Solar hot water systems can save the home owner or business a substantial amount of money and drastically reduce global warming. At current energy prices, these systems can pay for themselves in 2-5 years, depending on the application.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO INSTALL A SOLAR SYSTEM?
On average it takes less than a day to install a solar system.
HOW MUCH MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE IS REQUIRED?
Our solar technology requires virtually no maintenance of the system except for wiping clean the collector surface if it collected dust. We do however recommend that the system be checked annually to ensure that you are getting the best possible efficiency out of the system.
WHAT HAPPENS IF ON AN EVACUATED TUBE COLLECTOR A TUBE IS BROKEN?
On our evacuated tube heat pipe solar collectors the system will remain operational, only the efficiency of the system will be reduced slightly. Replacing the broken glass tube is a very simple and inexpensive operation.
WILL A SOLAR HOT WATER HEATING SYSTEM WORK ON A CLOUDY DAY?
Yes. Although the heat output of the solar collector is reduced on overcast days it will still be able to provide heating. Approximately 25-30% of the sun’s energy actually gets through the clouds.
CAN I USE A SOLAR HOT WATER HEATING SYSTEM WITH MY EXISTING HOT WATER SYSTEM?
Yes. ITS manufactures a special conversion valve to change your normal geyser into a solar geyser.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF EVACUATED TUBE SOLAR COLLECTORS OVER FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS?
ITS evacuated tube and ITS flat plate solar collector products are both of very high standard and offer superior performance when compared to many other brands on the market. There are a lot of different arguments about which type of collector is better and unfortunately this is often driven by what technology that company sells and not based on facts. Our measurements have shown that our evacuated tube collectors provide a more constant output throughout the year and they are frost resistant. The life expectancy is also longer on the evacuated tube collectors. Our flat plate collectors are however slightly cheaper and if installed with the correct controller system frost will not be a problem. Our conclusion is therefore: Installing a flat plate collector is a very good thing to do and installing an evacuated tube collector even better.
DOMESTIC HEAT PUMPS HOW DOES A HEAT PUMP WORK?
A heat pump works like an air conditioner in reverse. It uses a relatively small amount of electricity to extract heat from the surrounding air and then heats water with this energy.
HOW MUCH MONEY WILL A HEAT PUMP SAVE ME?
A domestic heat pump with a COP of 4 (efficiency of 400%) will save you 75% of the electricity currently used with a normal electrical element. So, for example, a family of 4 with a 200L geyser is currently using R480/month to heat the water. If a heat pump with a COP of 4 is connected to this geyser and the current electrical element is disconnected then they will not only use R120/month to heat the water.
HOW LONG DOES A HEAT PUMP TAKE TO HEAT WATER?
An ITS 4.7kW heat pump will heat the water slightly faster than a 4kW electrical element typically found in 200L geysers. The ITS 4.7kW heat pump produces 4.7kW of thermal energy under specified conditions while using as little as 1.2kW to do so.
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE PAYBACK FOR A HEAT PUMP SYSTEM?
Heat pump systems can save the home owner or business a substantial amount of money and drastically reduce global warming. At current energy prices, these systems can pay for themselves in 1-3 years, depending on the application and water usage.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO INSTALL A HEAT PUMP SYSTEM?
On average it takes less than half a day to install a heat pump system.
HOW HOT CAN A HEAT PUMP SYSTEM MAKE THE WATER?
ITS heat pumps are designed for a maximum temperature of 60°C. The heat pump can produce these temperatures even with the ambient temperature being below 0°C.
HOW MUCH MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE IS REQUIRED?
Our heat pump technology requires virtually no maintenance of the system except for making sure the evaporator is clean from dirt and leaves. We do however recommend that the system be checked annually to ensure that you are getting the best possible efficiency out of the system.
CAN I USE A HEAT PUMP WATER HEATING SYSTEM WITH MY EXISTING HOT WATER SYSTEM?
Yes. ITS manufactures a special loading valve to change your normal geyser into a heat pump geyser.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF HEAT PUMPS OVER SOLAR COLLECTORS? The main advantages of a heat pump are the ability to re-heat a geyser a few times per day and that it can work day and night, rain or shine. A solar system will only save you more money than a heat pump but only if the system had much more capacity than the demand and also depending on the usage pattern. The main disadvantage of a heat pump is that it is dependent on an electricity supply and so during a power failure you will need a backup generator.
WHAT IS THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A HEAT PUMP SYSTEM?
The life expectancy of a heat pump is more than 10 years.
SWIMMING POOL HEAT PUMPS HOW DOES A HEAT PUMP WORK?
A heat pump works like an air conditioner in reverse. It uses a relatively small amount of electricity to extract heat from the surrounding air and then heats water with this energy.
HOW MUCH MONEY WILL A HEAT PUMP SAVE ME?
A swimming pool heat pump with a COP of 5 (efficiency of 500%) will save you 80% of the electricity currently used with a normal electrical element. So, for example, to heat a 50 000L pool with an electrical element could currently cost about R1500/month. If a heat pump with a COP of 5 is connected to this pool and the current electrical element is disconnected then they will not only use R300/month to heat the water.
DO I NEED A POOL BLANKET?
The thermal losses on the surface of a pool is significant and even a slight cool breeze blowing over the surface of the pool can drastically cool down the pool. It is therefore very important to always use a thermal pool blanket to cover the pool when not in use even if it is an indoor swimming pool. If for some reason a thermal pool blanket cannot be used we would normally recommend the heat pump to be 3 times bigger. In other words, due to the losses you will now need to spend 3 times more money on electricity per month.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO INSTALL A HEAT PUMP SYSTEM?
On average it takes less than half a day to install a heat pump system.
HOW HOT CAN A POOL HEAT PUMP SYSTEM MAKE THE WATER?
ITS heat pumps are designed for a maximum temperature of 40°C. The heat pump can produce these temperatures even with the ambient temperature being below 0°C.
HOW MUCH MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE IS REQUIRED?
Our heat pump technology requires virtually no maintenance of the system except for making sure the evaporator is clean from dirt and leaves. We do however recommend that the system be checked annually to ensure that you are getting the best possible efficiency out of the system.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF HEAT PUMPS OVER SOLAR COLLECTORS?
The main advantage of a pool heat pump is that it can heat the water all year round and independent from the weather conditions. The black “spaghetti” pool solar panels that you often see covering the roof of a house is very cost effective and works well if you would just like to extend the usable season of your pool for a few months (and if you do not have a lot of cold wind in the area).
WHAT IS THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A HEAT PUMP SYSTEM?
The life expectancy of a heat pump is more than 10 years.
