Devon Solar & Damp Devon
the home of Sirena Environmental

Stage One

The initial step is to carry out a risk assessment to ensure that it is safe to work on the roof.

Stage Two

The next step is to fix the supporting frame to the roof. The frame consists of 3 pieces of Stainless steel with the manifold at the top. The frame is positioned on the roof ensuring that it is not in shadow.

It is fixed to the roof via 4 stainless steel straps depending on the type of roof these are either slipped under the tiles or slates and through the felt inside the roof and fixed to the side of the main roof beams via coach bolts or alternatively the slate or tiles are removed and the strap is fixed to the top of the roof beam.

The straps are at each corner of the frame and these are bolted to the underside of the frame.

The manifold is then fixed to the top of the frame.

Stage Three

This consists of getting pipes and sensor from the manifold into the roof. To do this one or more of the roof slates or tiles are removed at each end of the manifold and replaced by either a lead or aluminium slate with a rubber centre through which the pipe and sensor is fed through into the roof below.

Stage Four

Internal Plumbing

From the pipe coming through the roof either plastic or flexible stainless steel pipe is fed around the loft until the pipe work is above the hot water cylinder.

Stage Five

This involves connecting into your existing hot water cylinder and is usually done on the second day. The top connector of your water cylinder is removed (if the tank is old we may say that we will only install the system if a new cylinder is installed) and a thermix pipe is fixed in its place. This consists of a pipe that goes about 2/3rd of the way down the cylinder and feeds the hot water from the solar panel into the bottom of the cylinder. Around the top part is another pipe that feeds back to the pipe that was originally connected to the cylinder.

A non return valve is fitted to the 15mm return from the solar system so that at night there can not be any siphoning effect of hot water being fed into the solar system a drain is also fitted above the non return valve so that the system can be drained if required

A ‘T’ Is fitted to the cold feed to the cylinder and fed to a pump which is the feed to the solar system. This pump can be isolated by the use of the gate valves fitted either side of it.

The two pipes (the return from the solar system and the feed) are connected to the pipe work from the loft.

Stage Six

Electrics

A fuse spur is taken from a suitable point and from this a controller is powered which controls the system and powers the pump. The controller is situated by the cylinder with a sensor fixed closed to bottom of the cylinder making physical contact with the copper of the cylinder the other sensor is fixed inside the manifold.

Stage Seven

The system is powered up and via the drain above the non return valve the air Is bled out of the system and then a check is made for any leaks. The controller is set to manual so that water is circulated all the time overriding the sensors.

Stage Eight
Fixing the vacuum tubes to the manifold on the roof.
Once there is water flowing in the system the tubes are slid into their ‘collars’ in the manifold and fixed to the bottom of the frame and the external pipes are insulated.

Stage Nine

The controller is set to automatic and checked to ensure that it is working correctly.

Stage Ten

Tidy up and ensure that everything is left as it should be and the customer is happy and appropriate paper work is left.

Stage Eleven

A visit is made usually during the following week to ensue that everything is ok and the customer is happy.

Method of Operation

The cold feed for the solar system is taken from the down feed to the existing hot water tank and pumped around, and then enters the exiting hot water tank via a Thermix pipe that is fitted in place of the existing hot water feed. This Thermix pipe allows the hot water from the solar system to enter the tank at the same time allow hot water from the tank to connect in to the existing hot water system.

The system is controlled via sensors at the bottom of the hot water tank and a sensor on the solar system. The controller measures the temp at both places and, when there is a differential between the solar system and the hot water tank, the pump is switched on to move water a round the system, taking the hotter water from the solar system to heat up the hot water in the cylinder.