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Renewable Energy Systems from Solar Essence: solar photovoltaic pv, air & ground source heat pump, solar thermal heating, domestic wind turbine, rainwater harvesting, underfloor heating uk
Dual Solar Thermal Systems
We pioneered the development of domestic dual solar heating systems that not only produce hot water but actually integrate & contribute to your domestic central or under floor heating. Three years research and development in partnership with Gledhill have produced a unique product range unlike any others. Indeed it is our technical ability to be able to provide such systems that have made us the market leaders in the field today.
Dual systems come in various sizes to meet your hot water and heating demands. System variants are:
Dual-170/200/277/350/450
The heart of the system is the Torrent ‘RE’ thermal store, manufactured exclusively for solaressence® by Gledhill, well known as the market leaders in cylinder design. These systems provide mains pressure domestic hot water and central heating that is either open vented or sealed primary without the need for pressure & temperature relief valves, runaways to ground or annual safety checks. You must have a mains inlet pressure of 1.5 bar or above and due to water regulations the system is not compatible with pumped power showers. Because the system provides mains pressure water performance at your taps you can in fact as most of our customers do, do away with any existing pumped shower unit.
Making the most of solar energy
Built on the expertise gained with the popular range of Torrent thermal stores, with models suitable for gas, electricity or oil, Torrent ‘RE’ Solar incorporates a highly effective heat exchanger to maximise the energy collected by the solar panels. The solar dedicated section of the Torrent ‘RE’ Solar then extracts this energy to provide hot water for domestic use but also, importantly, for heating.
Built on the expertise gained with the popular range of Torrent thermal stores, with models suitable for gas, electricity or oil, Torrent ‘RE’ Solar incorporates a highly effective heat exchanger to maximise the energy collected by the solar panels. The solar dedicated section of the Torrent ‘RE’ Solar then extracts this energy to provide hot water for domestic use but also, importantly, for heating.
Solar heated water flows through the boiler thus reducing the amount of fuel used for HEATING and hot water. This is particularly useful outside the summer months when sufficient energy is still being produced through the collectors to provide background heating.
At the same time, because of the design philosophy inherent in the Torrent ‘RE’ Solar, energy is also being provided to the domestic hot water coil and flow rates of up to 25 litres per minute can be achieved.
These flow rates are capable of providing a ‘power shower’ or filling a bath in 3-4 minutes.
Boiler hold off thermostat
A very clever feature we install is what we call for short a boiler hold off stat, What this effectively does is inhibit your boiler from firing if the thermal store is at a particular set temperature. So if you took an example that your solar system was maintaining 45-50°C in the store on a particular day, what you can do is turn your central heating on, your central heating circulation pump will run, but your boiler will not fire. It is a weird feeling to feel warm radiators in your home that you know the heat that has heated them have actually come from the sun and not your boiler. This feature is not compatible with boilers that have a pump over-run facility, in this case the option will not be installed.
System design
Torrent ‘RE’ Solar is an open vented system and is therefore inherently safe. It is not subject to Building Control Regulation G3 – thus simplifying system maintenance enormously for landlords or homeowners. There is no requirement for expensive controls such as pressure and temperature (P&T) relief valves or expansion vessels – nor for annual servicing, saving approx £100 per annum. Without the need for a runaway to ground, Torrent ‘RE’ Solar is a particularly popular choice in apartments. Being a primary store, it is also possible to incorporate energy inputs from sources such as a range boiler, wood burning or pellet stove – again reducing the reliance on fossil fuels. The energy produced can then be used in the heating system in addition to providing domestic hot water.
The standard open vented store relies on an F&E (feed & expansion) tank suitably sited above the highest radiator point to provide sufficient head for the system. As the domestic hot water is at mains pressure, the Torrent ‘RE’ Solar itself can be sited anywhere in the property.
Provision is also made within the design for a sealed heating/boiler circuit with the heat exchanger provided which would then operate as a conventional cylinder.This would mean that both the Torrent and the F&E tank can then be sited anywhere in the property, as the F&E is only being used to fill the store with water.
The Torrent ‘RE’ Solar comes complete with compression fittings, temperature gauge, blending valve, immersion cylinder thermostat, immersion heater and 3 sensor pockets.
Cold and hot water distribution design
Torrent ‘RE’ Solar models are designed to be fed directly from the mains. They fulfil the requirements of the Water Regulations and therefore do not require a check valve to be fitted to the supply pipe. The performance of the Torrent ‘RE’ Solar is directly related to the adequacy of the cold supply to the dwelling. This must be capable of providing for those services which could be required simultaneously and the maximum demand should be calculated. Torrent ‘RE’ Solar will operate at dynamic pressures as low as 1.5 bar (at the appliance) which must be available when local demand is at its maximum, but the preferred range is between 2 and 3.5 bar. As a general guideline, although a 15mm external service may be sufficient for the smaller dwelling with one bathroom, a 22mm service is preferred (25mm MDPE) and should be the minimum for larger dwellings.
Thermally advanced
It is not widely appreciated that uncased foam insulated cylinders can lose up to 40% of their insulation value within weeks of manufacture and can emit dangerous smoke if involved in a fire. Torrent ‘RE’ Solar uses safe, non-toxic non-combustible Rockwool for continuous high performance during the life of the unit. Heat loss is inline with the requirements of Part L for Thermal Stores as outlined in the WMA Specification for Thermal Stores.
Environmental
We are committed to minimising the environmental impact of our operations and work hard to comply with all relevant environmental legislation. We are pro-active in the recycling of old copper cylinders and can offer incentives to customers in order to help reduce the impact of waste on the environment. All Geldhill products have an Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) of zero and a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of either one or zero.
We are committed to minimising the environmental impact of our operations and work hard to comply with all relevant environmental legislation. We are pro-active in the recycling of old copper cylinders and can offer incentives to customers in order to help reduce the impact of waste on the environment. All Geldhill products have an Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) of zero and a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of either one or zero.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO MATCH THE CHOSEN TORRENT 'RE' MODEL (DEDICATED VOLUME) WITH THE PROPERTY TYPE TO ACHIEVE COMPLIANCE WITH BUILDING REGULATIONS.
