Recent Updates
Mar 2010, SP announces major US distribution
agreement The multi million euro agreement will see the SP501
being deployed in state of the art hot water, heating & air conditioning
projects across the US.read more
Oct 2009, SP announces 2nd EU funded project
in renewables The multi million euro OSGRAM research project
in conjunction with the UK Materials Technology Research Institute.read more
Aug 2009, SP announces $30M distribution
agreement SP makes significant distribution agreement in New
Zealand.read more
July 2009, SP is Innovative Company of the
Year finalist SP is shortlisted as finalist in prestigious awards
along with two IBM company's.read more
June 2009, SP announces €20M distribution
agreement SP makes a significant distribution agreement in Ireland.read more
Feb 2009, SP announces most powerful solar
thermal collector in the world SP announces it has made a significant
performance breakthrough on its 3rd generation thermal collector.read more
Solar Basics
Performance
Training
Where To Buy
Performance
QUICK JUMP MENU
~ What does solar performance mean ?
~ Solar hot water in FOG in winter
~ Solar central heating systems - Ireland specific
~ Solar central heating systems - DEAP calculation spreadsheet
What does solar collector performance mean
Solar performance on a hot water system is a measure of the total performance of all aspects of the design. It includes the collector type and choice, the pipe work, the insulation standard and the settings of the system. No one part can be taken in isolation. It is very possible to take a good component and make it underperform. This section is going to help you as a distributor, installer or consumer understand the important aspects of Solar system design. We work with all installers directly to help them design systems for heating, cooling & hot water into existing or new innovative designed buildings.
Winter performance
In winter, conventional solar thermal collectors are severly limited
by their old fashioned designs. The latest Direct Flow Non Metal
Transfer technology excels at delivering higher efficiency per
sqm of collector. This new technology excels when solar energy
is difficult to obtain such as winter time but also if your climate
struggles with cloud, wind or rain at any time of the year. This
technology is now available at an affordable price from Surface
Power and is the single largest growth area in solar thermal.
| The performance of our solar systems in summer is unbeatable; BUT to really see if a solar system is capable of high performance, you need to see how it performs in winter. Below are examples from customer systems and how they performed in winter 2009 - Ireland specific. (Please note that this winter was one of the wettest on record since 1860 (valencia) when first records began with poor light levels associated with large amounts of rain cloud. | ||||
| Date | Month | Collector temp | Weather (www.met.ie) | Picture |
| 13/09/2009 | Sept | 95C (203F) | Sunshine, max 21C | Picture |
| 25/10/2009 | Oct | 54C (129F) | Cloudy & Rain | Picture |
| 31/10/2009 | Oct | 56C (133F) | Cloudy & Rain | Picture |
| 8/11/2009 | Nov | 74C (165F) | Cloudy & Rain | Picture |
| 28/11/2009 | Nov | 29C (84F) | Dense Fog, Dark, freezing | Picture |
| 29/11/2009 | Nov | 44C (111F) |
Cloudy with sunny breaks |
Picture |
| 30/11/2009 | Nov | 58C (137F) | Sunny/thin cloud/frosty | Picture |
| 10/12/2009 | Dec | 48C (119F) | Sunny/thin cloud/hard frost | Picture |
| 10/12/2009 | Dec | 55C (131F) | Sunny/thin cloud/hard frost | Picture |
| 12/12/2009 | Dec | 63C(145F) | Sunny/thin cloud/hard frost | |
| 13/12/2009 | Dec | 65C(149F) | Sunny/thin cloud/hard frost | |
| 15/12/2009 | Dec | 67C(152F) | Sunny/thin cloud/hard frost | |
| Please note, tank temperatures on the december solar readings above submitted to us by customers were in excess of 46C (114F), that means that Surface Power solar systems achieved 100% of the daily hot water requirements 6 days from the shortest day of the year. | ||||
| Pictures were taken at random times of the day, usually lunchtime. Temps above may not be the max for the day. | ||||
Comparison data
The SP501 when compared to 52 of the worlds leading solar keymark
collectors ourperformed all of them in a detailsed comparison
study. This study covered both winter and summer conditions. It
is worth noting that Direct Flow Non Metal Transfer solar will
always produce more heat than conventional vacuum or flat plate
collectors. See the results of a comparison of the SP501 with
the top collectors on the market.
Solar Hot Water Performance in Winter FOG
On the 29th of Nov, 2009, Ireland had a blanket of deep fog which
had decended on the country all day with very low visibility and
light levels. Outside temperatures were approx 0C-2C (32F-35F),
just above freezing. We received many comments, videos and phone
pictures from customers showing their solar systems working. Collector
temperatures reported between 23C-29C (73F-84F) depending on the
system installed. We will publish some of the data here in a table
format just to highlight our customers experiences.
| 28/11/2009 Nov | Dark, cold, foggy winters day |
Weather pictures ( at 1pm) |
| Max collector temps reported | 23C-29C - (73F-84F) | Picture 1 |
| Outside air temperature | 0C-2C - (32F-35F) | Picture 2 |
| Picture 3 | ||
| If you are sending us pictures from your phone, please ensure the quality setting is good enough and we may publish them. | ||
Actual Systems
The SP501 slar thermal collector is a major performance breakthrough
in thermal energy generation in both blue-sky (sunny) and more challenging
cloudy climates. The collector was designed, developed and rigourously
tested in the west coast of Ireland. This regions climate is noted
as being windy, cloudy and wet and provided the biggest challenge
to a solar collectors performance. The collector now leads performance
in this type of climate and as a result has superior winter performance
over any other collector. The SP501 is not like most other solar
hot water collectors. It is a direct flow non metal transfer (DFNMT)
solar hot water collector designed for process heat water temperatures.
This means it can be used for simple all year round domestic hot
water systems or for more challenging heating & cooling, air
conditioning and water treatment. (see the technology page for more
details). The collector can be used in Drain Back or Normal Closed
Loop or Direct Flow Systems. You can also mounted it flat, sideways,
upside down, in sun tracking mode, light tracking mode or light
horizon mode.Testing
The SP501 solar collector has undergone thorough testing during
its development so as to maximise its output and quality. The collector
has been subjected to rigourous climatic conditions during its development.
This ensures that it has been optimised for both colder and very
hot climates. The fact that the SP501 performs so well in challenging
climates means your installation in hot climates does not need as
much equipment and results in lower cost installations. The SP501
and its systems have been performance certified to AS/NZS 4234:2008
and achieved a rating of 783 kWhr/m2/pa. Go to PERFORMANCE
CERTIFICATESTest Certs
HARP Database - Ireland specific
For specific data relating to Ireland, our test certs and the testing centres used by us require additional validation. Currently we are 1 of only 11 global manufacturers who have achieved registration on the SEI HARP database. The HARP database creates a verifable link between the the test certs, the product and the Building Energy Rating. It provides a verified assurance to installers & consumers that the "actual" collector used is "actually" the collector mentioned on the relevant test cert. This can be verified by a Building Energy Rating assessor.
Solar Central Heating Systems - Ireland specific
Our solar collectors are process heat collectors so are ideal for central heating (and hot water) systems. For calculation of the correct DEAP values, please use the SEI form below. This will allow you to calculate the correct solar hot water and solar central heating input values for the SEI DEAP software. We will help you design your systems. If you are an installer or customer, please contact our support department at support@surfacepower.com
SEI DEAP Solar Central Heating Calculation