EVACUATED TUBE SOLAR WATER HEATING SYSTEM

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What are Solar Evacuated Tubes? The solar evacuated tubes are made of borosilicate glass and used as the absorbing heat element in the solar heater system. The vacuum between the cover tube and inner tube minimizes heat loss. The absorption of the AZZURO Tube is up to 93% of the light. It is the most efficient solar absorber element, very popular in Europe, and recently has come to New Zealand. Q. How does the Solar Hot Water System work? The Solar Hot Water System combines the collectors (panels), water cylinder, expansion vessel, and a solar control & pumping unit. The heat exchange system brings the heat from the collector into a coil inside the water cylinder, and exchanges heat to the domestic water. The solar control unit controls the pump when it needs to work. The controller is digital and fully programmable. There are up to 7 auto-control functions which can be chosen, please always refer to the user manual for more details. Q. Can I use a Solar Collector with my existing hot water system? Normally YES if your Hot Water Cylinder (HWC) is not too old. Simply install a collector, pump, and controller, and it will work fine with the existing plumbing system. Q. Which evacuated tube collector should I use? You can choose either the CPC12 or CPC18 tube collector, which ever is the correct size for your cylinder, and the number of people in your family. Both collectors are designed for Closed Loop Solar Hot Water Installation.

Q. What is a Closed Loop Solar Hot Water Installation? A Closed Loop System means that a heat transfer liquid is used throughout the solar hot water system, rather than the potable water you use every day. The system is designed to circulate this fluid through the collectors, through the plumbing linking the collectors on your roof, back to your HWC. If your HWC is a purpose built solar unit, the heat transfer fluid will then circulate through its solar coil, transferring the suns energy into your HWC. If you have an existing HWC, a Heat Exchanger will be used. Q. Why do we always use Closed Loop Installations for Evacuated Tube Collectors? Evacuated Tube solar technology is designed to achieve high temperatures quickly, by utilizing day long solar energy collection, and retention. Therefore the Heat Transfer Fluid in the Closed Loop system is able to accommodate very high temperatures tolerances, and any pressure increases within the system are controlled by an Expansion Vessel. These features allow the Closed Loop system to combine the best of all worlds, super efficiency, with maintenance free durability and safety. The Closed Loop system also guarantees that your solar system will not be gradually degraded by hard mains water, or tank or bore contaminants. Q. Will Water be heated on a cloudy day? YES. The evacuated tubes absorb the full spectrum of light, including infrared rays and ultra-violet rays, so the tubes generate hot water on cloudy days as well as sunny days. Although the efficiency of the solar collector is reduced on cloudy days, it will still be able to heat water for normal use. Q. Can VILLA Evacuated Tube Solar Systems be used in cold conditions? YES. These collectors can be used in temperatures as low as -30C Q. What about freeze protection? The Solar Controller protects the panel by intermittently cycling small amounts of warm Heat Transfer Fluid to the panel automatically when collector temperature is lower than +2C. Q. Are the solar collectors an eyesore on the roof? If only the collectors are mounted on the roof, it should blend into the roof design well. In fact, AZZURO solar collectors are now so low profile that they could be mistaken as skylights. Q. Can the AZZURO evacuated tube collectors be mounted on a flat surface? YES. They can be mounted on a flat roof, flush on a wall, or on the ground, using a stainless steel frame to tilt them at the correct angle. Q. What maintenance of the solar collector is required? Under normal circumstances no maintenance of the system is required. Due to the shape of the tubes, regular rainfall and wind should keep the tubes and the reflectors clean.

Q. What happens if one of the tubes is broken? These glass tubes are not easy to break. Hey can resist 25mm diameter hail. If a breakage occurs, no water will leak out! Therefore the evacuated tubes can be replaced very easily. No mess and approx. $35.00 to replace. NB You will continue to get solar hot water, even with several broken tubes. Q. Can VILLA Solar Collectors provide large-scale hot water? YES. AZZURO Solar collectors can be connected in series to provide large-scale hot water for commercial needs such as a school, hotel, office building etc. There is no limit to the size of the system. Q. Are Evacuated Tube Collectors more efficient than flat plate collectors? YES. Evacuated Tube Collectors are superior to flat plate collectors in a number of ways. Due to the cylindrical shape of the evacuated tube, the suns rays enter close to perpendicular to the surface of the glass for most of the day. Flat plate collectors have the disadvantage that the sun is only perpendicular to the collector at noon and thus a proportion of the sunlight striking the surface of the collector is reflected at other times. On cloudy days this problem is even worse. As the name suggest, air is evacuated from the evacuated tube to form a vacuum. This greatly reduces conductive and convective heat loss from the interior of the tube. Therefore wind and cold temperatures have minimal effect on the efficiency of these collectors. AZZURO Solar Evacuated Tube Collectors can be used in subzero temperatures without the system sustaining damage. Flat plate systems often require expensive and complicated antifreeze systems to be installed. Evacuated Tubes are strong, long lasting, and even if the tube is broken, it is easy to replace. Due to the high efficiency absorption of solar radiation even during overcast conditions and cold seasons, evacuated tube collectors will heat hot water all year round. Due to the various advantages of the evacuated tube collector over the flat plate collectors, a SMALLER COLLECTOR can be used to provide the SAME heating performance. Q. How long do the Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors last? Generally, the Evacuated Tube Solar Collector will last 16 to 20 years.