Why choose an Ecopoint Solar Water Heating System?

Solar Water Heating is a smart investment, particularly in today's economic climate and at Ecopoint we pride ourselves in providing world class products and services. Ecopoint's customers can remain confident knowing that their Solar Water Heating investment is the right one and that's backed by the additional security of National and International Certification and Compliance second to none! See the Technical Specifications here

The Ecopoint Evacuated Tube is relatively new to NZ and the technology is quite different to the traditional Solar Water Heating systems of the past. The cylindrical shape of the Ecopoint Evacuated Tube and unique coatings maximises the absorption of the suns radiation throughout the day, so peak performance is gained well before and beyond the optimum height of the sun is reached without a single drop of sun is being wasted.

Recommended Installation:

To achieve the best performance, a Solar Water Heating system should be used with a MEPS compliant solar ready cylinder. This will provide the additional ports needed to pump water to and from the solar collector and also provide facilities to place temperature probes correctly so that the controller can perform to its peak performance.

Alternative Installation:

A multi flow valve can be fitted to an existing cylinder which will still allow the Solar Water Heating system to work efficiently, but it will not be able to perform as well as a system fitted to a dedicated Solar Ready cylinder. The benefit of offering the multi flow valve is to retain the existing cylinder and thereby reducing the overall cost of the installation; and a Solar Ready cylinder can easily be fitted at a later date if required.

Cylinder Options:

Retro fit: Installing a Solar Water Heating system into an existing home or commercial environment

• Replacement of an existing cylinder is recommended when the existing cylinder is not capable of retaining heat efficiently or when it is undersized relative to the Solar Collector's full heat output, based on hot water demand.
• A pre heat cylinder can also be used to increase capacity of the existing cylinder or in conjunction with an existing gas system, either instantaneous gas or gas storage cylinder which is not otherwise solar compatible.
• A multi valve is designed to utilise an existing cylinder when hot water demand is low or if a cylinder replacement is not practical.

New: Installing a Solar Water Heating system into a new home or commercial environment

• A MEPS compliant Solar Ready Cylinder (Minimum Energy Performance Standard) would be installed in a new home and the Solar Water Heating pipe work connected once the water is turned on. The cylinder size is calculated on the house size and estimated peak hot water demand

Solar Water Heating can also be integrated with a number of residential applications such as:

• Solid fuel heater with a wetback
• Swimming pools
• Spa pools
• Under floor heating with auxiliary gas or diesel boost.
• Radiator heating with auxiliary gas or diesel boost.

Collector Placement

The ideal location of the Solar Collector is true North (22 degrees west of magnetic north) between 30 and 50 degrees, or ± 10 degrees of latitude. This inclination has the greatest impact on the winter performance and is essential to provide an overall annual saving of up to 75% of hot water heating costs.

Alternately, an East West configuration is used when there is no suitable roof area facing north and this is an extremely efficient option because it captures both early morning and late afternoon sun throughout the entire year.

NB. Solar Collectors are generally sized relative to hot water demand and cylinder size but the amount of shading that a collector will get at various times throughout the year has to be considered as well, otherwise the performance may be adversely affected. In such cases, over sizing the collector may be one simple option that will compensate for the reduced sun hours.

Commercial applications:

Solar Water Heating can be used effectively to reduce the high cost of heating water in many commercial applications, particularly when hot water usage is high. In most cases it is essential to establish peak demand so that the system can be designed around actual water demand, rather than offering a generic, one size fits all system. The long term performance of a custom designed Solar Water Heating system will maximise the overall cost savings year after year and that is a critical component to the financial viability of any commercial Solar Water Heating installation.