We are building a list of recommended installers, depending on what part of the country you live in.
Alternatively, you can find lists of accredited installers (and they’ll need to be accredited if you’re going to get any grants) on the STA and MCS websites. Or you might know a local, trusted installer. And then there’s Google. A word of caution though – the solar industry has attracted more than its fair share of rogue outfits over the years, so it pays to be very careful.
A typical installation will take 1-2 days. It generally involves work on the roof and inside the house / cylinder cupboard and/or loft space, plus pipe runs and electrical wires between those places. It doesn’t necessarily involve changing your boiler or heat controls. Your installer will advise you about the best products for you, and where to put them; recommend either a vented or unvented system; and they’ll also organise getting the system signed off by building control.
Self-install
You really have to know what you’re doing if you intend to self-install. You absolutely need plumbing experience, and to understand that whilst it may look like conventional plumbing, solar thermal installation has some unique characteristics that are more demanding and potentially more dangerous. If you think you’re ‘handy’ enough, get our book for all the information you need, after which you can decide if you’re up to the job.
But – you can’t get the reduced VAT on the kit (you only pay 5% if it’s installed by an accredited installer), and you can’t get any grants/incentives either. You need to understand a lot more about the technology if you intend to do it yourself, and building regs approval is a bit more complicated (a certified installer will deal with all that for you). You would have to submit a notification to building control before you start, and afterwards they’ll come to inspect and sign it off as compliant (if it is). So you need to know about building regs. Go to the Planning Portal website, where all the approved documentation is freely downloadable.
Nevertheless, you could still save more money by installing your own system, even though you don’t get any grants – because you don’t have to pay for an installer; plus you get a better understanding of your system and how to fix it if it goes wrong, and you can customise things to suit your own needs.
If you’re really keen, you can build your own system as well. Again, this is covered in our book. I know we’ve mentioned the book several times now – we’re not trying to blow our own trumpet (well, maybe a little bit), but it really is the best book you’ll find on solar hot water.
Combined with a wood stove
Solar hot water works well in combination with a wood stove with a back boiler. This way the solar panels will provide all your hot water in the summer, and the wood stove all your hot water in the winter. Then you’ll have year-round hot water from renewables.
This will involve installing a triple-coil cylinder (or having another coil installed in your twin-coil cylinder) if you intend to keep your existing boiler, or a twin-coil cylinder if you don’t. More information about this can be found in our Heating with Wood book.