Solar roofing panels meet Code and planning requirements

A new addition to Solar Century’s award winning family of solar roofing materials is the C21e slate, which makes sustainable building even easier and better looking. The C21e Slate delivers the same high power output as the award winning tile format, it has a sleek aluminium frame to fit with a range of natural, fibre cement and reconstituted roof slates.The slate product follows demand for a solar roofing material compatible with slate roofs not only in the UK but across Europe, and is already in use on more than a dozen roofs in the UK helping house builders meet planning requirements and the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Since its launch in 2005, C21 solar electric and solar thermal roof tiles have been installed on over a thousand roofs by house builders such as Barratt, Fairview, St James and Croudace. Feedback from initial C21e Slate installation has been positive.

Simon Gerrard, Solarcentury’s residential sales manager, says: “An increasing number of developers are choosing photovoltaics as part of the solution to help them meet The Code for Sustainable Homes at level three and beyond. This is because photovoltaics are easy to specify in SAP, easy to install, have a proven performance in the UK and are comparable in price to other renewable options.”

Solarcentury also has ‘Orbit’, the new solar energy display system for homes with C21 roof tiles. It is the only consumer friendly display on the market to show both energy consumption and production in a clear graphical format.

The simple wall mounted wireless device follows consumer demand for a clear graphical display to encourage energy saving at the same time as demonstrating home energy generation, and is an innovative addition to the Solarcentury product family.

More information: www.solarcentury.com

Complete solution for underfloor heating pipe placement

Opting for underfloor heating instead of traditional radiators in his conservatory has enabled Chas Smith, a retired export manager from Chippenham, to use his conservatory all year round – including on the coldest day of the year.

He had installed the OSMA UFH system plates design from Wavin Plastics the 4×3 meter space in just five hours, including laying the polystyrene insulation.

Chas says: “I decided to go for a stand alone underfloor heating installation because I didn’t want to have to connect the system to the main boiler for hot water, as that would have meant I’d need temperature control valves on all the other radiators in the house. This was the simplest solution without doing any major work or upgrading the existing system.”

The OSMA UFH system plates concept is a cleverly designed complete solution for underfloor heating pipe placement. Vacuum-formed tough plastic sheets have an upstanding grid of integral clips to hold the OSMA UFH pipe in place. The system plates lie on top of the insulation and clip together.

The system plates are versatile and easily trimmed to size to fit the room space. Full and half turns are held securely and even diagonals can be included if needed. The system gives full flexibility for layout and spacing and protects the pipe while the screed is laid. The pipe is held in place even while it’s walked over!

Flooring tiles over the underfloor heating keep the conservatory at an optimum temperature.

More information: www.wavin.com

Powerpanel for wet rooms

Xella Dry Lining Systems’ Fermacell Powerpanel H2O claim to be ideally suited to the housing arena. With no clear British Standards for waterproofing, these boards are said to exceed the varying international standards for waterproofing and have gained a European Technical Approval (ETA-07/0087) – for indoor partitions, and external applications: it can be rendered onto, but also used as stand alone facade panels.

The product was introduced because, historically, building materials used in wet room applications had proved inadequate resulting in, for example, mould growth and loss of tiles.

Fermacell Powerpanel H2O panels offer a complete solution to wet room applications. In wall construction tests the product provides high acoustic and fire performance – exceeding those achieved by other similar products available in the market – whilst still remaining competitively priced.

The product is easy to install and is based on the same simple construction techniques that are used with standard drywall materials. A range of Fermacell Powerpanel screws are available, including 3.9 mm gauge or drill tip where required. Staples – suitable for high humidity areas – can be used with a minimum 10mm head, 1.5mm gauge and 60mm leg length.

The boards are available through various distribution companies.

Daniel Thompson, the company’s regional sales manager, says: “Specifiers and developers want to use materials that are not only competitively priced but are fit for purpose. It’s quite clearly a false economy to buy lower grade materials and then find that unnecessary extra costs are incurred because of resulting water damage. With Fermacell Powerpanel H2O boards, installers can be safe in the knowledge that they are using a product which has surpassed stringent European building regulations.”

More information: www.xella.co.uk

Super efficient ground-air heat exchanger

What is described as a “super efficient” ground-air heat exchanger system has been launched by ADM Systems. It claims a Coefficient of Performance (COP) of around 50. This compares to a COP on ground-source heat pumps of around 3-4. It significantly reduces the amount of energy the mechanical ventilation with heat recovery unit (MVHR) system requires to heat or cool the incoming air.

It does this by exploiting the natural temperature of the ground to provide a cost effective source of renewable energy. At a depth of 1.5 to 2m, the earth’s temperature is a constant 8-12˚C throughout the year.

By drawing air through an underground network of pipes, it is either pre-heated by the ground in winter or pre-cooled in summer. In combination with an ADM Systems MVHR unit this significantly reduces the heating and cooling costs of a building.

For example, an outside air temperature of -5˚C during winter can be raised to +4˚C by the heat exchanger, before it enters the MVHR unit, based on a constant average ground temperature of 10˚C. Similarly, during summer a 28˚C outside air temperature can be pre-cooled to +16˚C, again by using the heat exchanger and constant 10˚C ground temperature, before it enters the MVHR unit.

Chris Marriott, ADM Systems’ managing director, says: “We’ve had a tremendous response to the new system from customers looking to significantly reduce their heating and cooling costs in the building. By using the earth’s natural stored energy we are able to offer an amazing COP of around 50.”

The MVHR units, fitted with the new system, works by a series of ducts that collect stale moist air from inside the house, from areas such as the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms. This stale contaminated air passes through the MVHR unit and is exhausted to the outside. Clean fresh heated (or cooled) air from the heat exchanger is then drawn into the MVHR unit, as the two air streams pass each other, the heat is transferred from the outgoing stale air to the fresh incoming air.

There is no mixing of air streams. During winter, the system is able to capture over 90% of the energy from the outgoing stale air before delivering it as warm filtered, preconditioned air into the living areas of the property through the ducting.

ADM Systems is able to offer customers bespoke design software to calculate the expected output of the system, based on UK weather data. This software shows the kilowatt-hours per annum that can be saved in both heating and cooling operations and also the COP of each project.

More information: www.admsystems.co.uk

New underfloor heating system for upper floors

Same cost as conventional radiators?

Warmdec claims to be “a revolutionary” new underfloor heating system for upper floors developed and patented by Alvesta Ltd. It overcomes the current barriers of cost and safety when it comes to installing an upper floor system.

The main break through, it is claimed, is that the Warmdec costs the same to install as a conventional radiator system. It has no joints apart from at the control manifold and can be installed by semi-skilled staff at first fix without the need for safety bagging or boarding.

Under floor heating can show a 25% energy saving over conventional radiator systems as it requires water heated to only 50-60oC instead of the 70-80oC that radiators require.

Warmfloor also has a partnership agreement with Mitsubishi Electric Europe to distribute their latest reversible air source heat pumps which can be installed in most loft or garage spaces and, being reversible, they not only help to heat the property but also cool it in the warmer months.

Alvesta chief executive, Adrian Ladds, says: “These pumps take energy efficiency to a new level and when combined with our Warmdec under floor heating and solar collectors we can get very close to a zero carbon footprint.

“Energy efficiency is becoming very important in the building of new housing and, provided that the householder uses a “green” electricity tariff, Alvesta is probably unique in being able to offer an ongoing effectively zero carbon footprint option at such a reasonable cost.”

More information: www.warmfloor.co.uk

Brand new solar thermal tile gets off the ground

First for award winner solarcentury

The world’s first fully integrated solar roof, featuring the brand new C21t solar thermal tile was launched recently by solarcentury.

Identical in size to conventional roof tiles, the award-winning C21e solar electric tiles and the brand new C21t solar thermal tiles together form the Complete Solar Roof, generating electricity and hot water respectively – even in cloudy conditions. They offer a unique patented combination of solar thermal and solar photovoltaic tiles that integrate with standard roof tiles.
The Complete Solar Roof is said to offer significant savings on energy bills to the end-users. A typical system will generate over 60% of the hot water requirements for a three-bedroom home.

The C21e photovoltaic tile uses the most efficient cells available on the market, requiring just 8m2 per kWp and generating 800kWh of electricity per year from this area. Excess electrical energy produced by the C21e can be sold to the national grid. Research by the Energy Savings Trust suggests that lower fuel bills are just part of the appeal and that the majority of homebuyers are prepared to pay up to £10,000 more for a sustainable home.

Other advantages for homeowners, developers and installers include:

• The ability to add C21 tiles to an existing build programme, without the need to redesign the roof.
• Fast installation in a conventional tiled roof by any competent roofer.
• No requirement of additional planning permission, except on listed buildings or in conservation areas, where permission is more likely to be granted than for conventional solar panels.
• The flexibility to use different configurations of tiles to match the user’s heat and power needs.
• No significant change to the appearance of a property due to the dark colour and flush fit of the tiles.
• Generation of emission free electricity and hot water without burning fossil fuels.

The latest member of the C21 family, the C21t thermal tile, captures energy from the sun to warm a fluid. The heat in this fluid is then transferred to the hot water system, reducing overall energy requirements for hot water in the home.

Developers or householders interested in installing the C21e, C21t or the Complete Solar Roof should contact solarcentury on 020 7803 0100 or visit www.solarcentury.com

Comments

The EST survey found nearly 7 out of 10 Britons believe that homes boasting energy saving features are worth paying more money for. Almost half (44%) were willing to pay an additional £5,000 – £10,000 for a green home built to high environmental standards. More information visit www.est.org.uk

Boiler Buddy can increase home heating and hotwater efficiency

New product brings Formula One technology to your home

The Boiler Buddy is a brand new addition to Fernox’s portfolio of energy saving products. This in-line magnetic filter is easily connected to any condensing boiler system to trap magnetite, rust and magnetic materials to sub-micron levels ensuring your heating system achieves optimum efficiency.

Based on technology used in Formula 1 Motor Racing, to remove dirt from engine oil, the Boiler Buddy works on a magnetic principle, collecting and filtering contaminants from a central heating system to prevent potential component damage and erosion.

The unit works via a series of annular magnets and flux plates. As the water passes through the magnetic filter, the contaminants are drawn into special collection areas. Unlike conventional filters that can become clogged, the flux plate design (awarded the Millennium Prize for innovation in 20xx) ensures that the filter never restricts the system flow, even when full.

A clear housing allows the build up of debris to be easily checked, enabling the condition of a central heating system to be continually monitored.

The Boiler Buddy is connected directly into 22mm copper pipework using conventional pump connectors and can be installed either horizontally or vertically. A good diy-er could probably do the job efficeintly and effectively.

Further information from www.fernox.com.

Comments

This has got to be a must for every central heating system. Debris in the system will clog it and eventually lead to major problems and inefficiencies.

Wireless control for heating systems

Greater efficiency saves money and CO2

Householders can improve the efficiency for their domestic central heating system by selecting the right control system to integrate with their boiler to achieve complete heating system efficiency.

Buderus has introduced a new dual channel ModuLink controller which is ideally suited for use with its 500 and 600 condensing combi and system boilers.  This wireless, combined room thermostat and programmer incorporates various features plus the added advantage of independent control for heating and domestic hot water.

The fully controllable one-day programmer meets the City & Guilds Best Practice recommendations and offers ‘intelligent system’ operation.

It enables boilers to be sited in virtually any area of the home because all programme functions can be adjusted remotely, in fact, the radio frequency will work up to 30m away from the boiler.  When space is at a premium, it allows the boiler to be located in the garage, cellar or even the loft to gain extra space where it is most needed, but with no loss of heating and domestic hot water system control.

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Both single and dual channel ModuLinks make full use of the latest modulating technology and automatically adjust the output of the boiler, using room temperature modulation rather than flow temperature which results in increased energy efficiency and improved comfort levels.

The single and dual channel programmers are part of a range of Buderus heating control systems designed to offer installers a range of choices to meet customer needs.  They are simple to fit, easy to operate and can improve heating system efficiency.  They are an important additional factor in any domestic heating and hot water system.

Comments

One of the biggest problems with modern heating systems are inefficient controls. You can install the most efficient boiler but if you haven’t got the controls right then what you gain on the roundabout you lose on the swing. So make sure you’re all under control.