Anyone using Solar Panels as primary heating system?

[Vanilla]

It's because a dishwasher uses very little hotwater so if you 'open' the hot water tap the dishwasher actually fills with the first small amount of cold water in the pipes, then the pipes are full of the hot water coming after which is never used and thus is wasted.

 

[tsherman]

I'm not sure If anyone is still interested, but I'm a Grad student in Architecture and we built a house last year for a competition (The Solar Decathlon) and it ran off nothing but solar for everything! We used vacuum tubes for our solar hot water. We ran showers, dishwasher, and any hot water for cooking (as determined as average use by the competition) consecutively for 5 days during the competition. We never once ran out of hot water. We had an electric backup hot water heater but only had to use it initially the first day to bring the water temp up for the first run, but that was it.

You may be able to find some useful information through the competition website (all the manufactures should be listed). Or this solar technologies website.
http://www.solardecathlon.org/
http://www.thermomax.com/index.php

From my limited but thorough experience the vacuum tubes can't be beat. They are much more efficient and can insure heat even through winter! In combination with a wood pellet boiler could be a deadly and cost effective system. It's claimed that vacuum tubes on a well insulated house can pay for itself in 3 to 7 years.

 

[sfag]

Our house is not a conventional build. It's super insulated and very airtight.

Pellets cost about 200euros per ton in bulk and 330 per ton bagged. We used 1.15 tons but as I said we wasted quite a few until we figured out the best settings (we had it set on and off then on again then off again several times a day - it's much better to have it on fewer times and for longer in our case twice). We used firestixx and a small amount of brites.

We have a Wamsler stove with integral boiler.

It was all supplied and installed by our German builders. The cost was included in the price of the house but apparently it was 30K (as per sei application).

I don't understand how anyone who reads this can say solar panels don't make sense for heating. Surely less than 300euro for all heating and hotwater for 2000sqft speaks for itself.

I really don't mean to start an argument I just want to show that it is a possibility as alot of people (some supposedly in the know) seems to dismiss it.

dont understand your conclusion there.
You have shown how efficient your pellet heating is.
You dont separate the solar afrom the pellets.
How can you say the solar is working.

Regarding solar.
it just doesent make sense..
it nees sun in the winter time - in the evening. How can it work?

You mention 30 grand for your system - is that jus the solar & the pellet boilers. My large gas boiler cost 2 grand. ???

 

[sfag]

I'm not sure If anyone is still interested, but I'm a Grad student in Architecture and we built a house last year for a competition (The Solar Decathlon) and it ran off nothing but solar for everything! We used vacuum tubes for our solar hot water. We ran showers, dishwasher, and any hot water for cooking (as determined as average use by the competition) consecutively for 5 days during the competition. We never once ran out of hot water. We had an electric backup hot water heater but only had to use it initially the first day to bring the water temp up for the first run, but that was it.

You may be able to find some useful information through the competition website (all the manufactures should be listed). Or this solar technologies website.
http://www.solardecathlon.org/
http://www.thermomax.com/index.php

From my limited but thorough experience the vacuum tubes can't be beat. They are much more efficient and can insure heat even through winter! In combination with a wood pellet boiler could be a deadly and cost effective system. It's claimed that vacuum tubes on a well insulated house can pay for itself in 3 to 7 years.

Interesting that - it proves that solar is pointless.
5 days in my house with showers, sinks, dishwashers and washing machines every day will cost me €1 a day.

Your elaborate experiment saved you 5 quid.

All comparisons are redundant unless you compute the price of comparisons.
It is astounding how many people think heating the hot water clyinder is some sort of break through.

central heating is the where the expense is.