Sustainable Energy Consultants

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Sustainable energy sources are energy sources which are not expected to be depleted in a timeframe relevant to the human race, and which therefore contribute to the sustainability of all species.

Sustainable energy sources are most often regarded as including all renewable sources, such as solar power, wind power, wave power, geothermal power, tidal power and others.

Solar water heating
This is the most cost effective form of alternative technology and should be fitted to every suitable domestic and commercial property. The sun can heat the hot water alongside the conventional water heater. Most solar water-heating systems have two main parts: the solar collector and the storage tank. The collector heats the water, which then flows to indirectly heat water in a large well insulated storage tank.

Flat-plate collectors
A common type of solar collector, usually mounted on the roof. This collector is an insulated rectangular box with a transparent cover that faces the sun. The water is heated by passing through small tubes mounted on a black metal absorber plate within the box.

Evacuated-tube collectors
This collector consists of rows of parallel transparent double skinned glass tubes, each of which contains an absorber tube covered with a selective coating , sunlight enters through the outer glass tube, strikes the absorber tube, and changes to heat. The heat is transferred to the water flowing through the manifold at one end of the tubes. Air is evacuated from the space between the outer tube and the absorber tube eliminating conductive and convective heat losses. Evacuated tube systems are more efficient than flat plate collectors especially in the winter.

Solar water heating can provide you with about 70% of your hot water needs. The average domestic system reduces C02 by around 350kg per year.

An average home with four occupants needs 3 sq m of panels fed into a 250 litre tank. The typical installation cost for a domestic system is £4000 - £5000.

Commercial buildings often have a much lower hot water usage than a domestic home.

Passive Solar
Passive solar heating is simply the collection of solar energy by the design of a building without utilising special devices, such as solar panels. Large areas of south facing glazing can be utilized for space heating and for lighting.