New technology thermal solar products from Genersys
I am writing a post today about a new series of Genersys panels; it will be a bit of an advertisement but I hope I shall be forgiven if one post out of the 200 that I have written since I started this weblog is written specifically about new products that Genersys is now launching.
Three types of solar panels
For many years now there have been three types of solar panels. There are the black or rubber or plastic tubes only used for pool heating, and they are not what you would think of as a solar panel. They are a direct system with the pool water flowing through the tubes. These tubes have no insulation to conserve the heat.
The second type is the flat plate. This is usually a rectangular panel with an absorber attached to copper pipes protected by glazing. This is a much more sophisticated system which has solar heated glycol flowing through the tubes to provide heat to a heat exchanger. Generally flat plates have the characteristics of reliability and good aesthetics as they can be roof integrated.
The third type of panel is an evacuated tube system. The absorber is enclosed in a tube, rather like a long light bulb, and the tube is evacuated to prevent heat loss. They cannot be roof integrated and present a row of tubes on a roof. This type is now very popular in China where most of the systems are evacuated tubes. They were invented in Germany but now only account for around 8% of the German market because of maintenance issues.
Vacuums prevent heat losses
A vacuum is a great way to prevent heat losses. Radiated heat cannot pass through a vacuum, so evacuated panels performance will better, retaining more heat than flat plates. This is helpful when you have a restricted roof space.
Although evacuated tubes are very efficient, they do suffer from losses of vacuum, just like thermos flasks and light bulbs. When the vacuum is lost the performance is far worse than that of an insulated flat plate.
The heat stresses in any thermal solar panels are very high. A panel operates and heats up and down over a greater temperature range than a jumbo jet’s wings are subjected to. Sometimes individual vacuum tubes break and have to be replaced if the system is to maintain its optimum efficiency. Most evacuated tubes come with short guarantees for this reason and the German market has found, despite their heat retaining advantage, the domestic market prefers flat plate for reliability.
New types of solar panels from Genersys
Genersys is now able to offer in the United Kingdom the world’s only production evacuated flat plate panels. For some years now our German and Slovakian partners, ThermoSolar, have been producing reliable evacuated flat plates. Fifteen years ago their evacuated flat plate held the vacuum for about two years but could be re-evacuated in situ from the home. Five or six years ago the seals were improved to provide a vacuum that lasts up to ten years. Unlike tubes, when the vacuum is lost on the Genersys evacuated flat plates, re-evacuation is easy from the home or from a plant room.
Certification and Solar Keymark
Last year in Genersys we started manufacturing the vacuum panels with our folding technology and obtained full EN certification and Solar Keymark certification for two vacuum flat plate panels. You can see what solar Keymark certification involves at http://www.estif.org/solarkeymark/regcol.php
You can download all certification information from www.genersys-solar.com
Genersys 1450
The first vacuum panel is the Genersys 1450. Like all Genersys products this is very high quality with folding technology (no solders, rivets screws bolts or nuts used) but after the panels are roof mounted the installer pumps the air out of them to create a vacuum of 100pa which operates as the insulation. The panels have a pipe that is taken to the pump station where the vacuum can be created and the panels re-evacuated should the need so arise.
If you want better performance in cold weather and faster recovery time the Genersys 1450 provides this, although at a cost.
Genersys 1850
In addition to the 1450 we have released the Genersys 1850. It is built to the same specification as the 1450 but the absorber coating is very hot titanium oxide. This is too hot for domestic operations but ideal where you have a constant heat demand that the panels can never keep up with – such as may arise in a hospital or industrial process.
So if you are thinking about getting some solar panels the Genersys range offers a choice, according to your application:-
Genersys 1000-10 is for all normal domestic applications
Genersys 1450 is also for all applications but it has better performance in very cold weather and more suitable for space heating and air condition connection than 1000-10; also useful if roof space is more limited.
Genersys 1850 is for industrial and commercial applications that need high and constant heat requirements.
All panels are manufactured to exactly the same standards
Find an installer
If you are thinking about a solar system it is best to get specific advice from an experienced and qualified installer. If you ring Jodie or Felicity on 020 7637 9708 they’ll find one for you.
And this is the end of the advertisement.
Filed under: carbon emissions, climate change, energy, genersys, heat, microgeneration, solar, solar energy, solar panels | Tagged: advice about soalr system, heat stresses in solar panels, loss of vacuum in tubes, soalr keymark, ThermoSolar, vacuum
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[...] mark young wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptGenersys 1450 is also for all applications but it has better performance in very cold weather and more suitable for space heating and air condition connection than 1000-10; also useful if roof space is more limited. … [...]
“This type is now very popular in China where most of the systems are evacuated tubes. They were invented in Germany but now only account for around 8% of the German market because of maintenance issues.”
We think it is disgraceful if you did NOT finish the whole story about this claim.
We finish this for you “China now occupies 80% solar thermal installation area in the world using evacuated tube. In UK, Ritter Evacuated Tube which made in China and Branded as German Ritter occupies 40% of UK solar thermal market. In souther europe, Spain, Portugal, Itally, Evacuated Tube occupies 80% solar thermal market”
Once again, “we should sell but we have to tell the truth”, otherwise, we are NOT different from those scam companies which will cost our next generation suffers.
—Yuning
Yuning
I agree that China has many solar thermal installations - 80% sounds about right. In China the much lower labour costs make maintenance not the same issue as it is in Western Europe.
I would be very surprised if Ritter has a 40% market share; I haven’t seen their panels in Portugal or Greece and I hear, anecdotally, that flat plates dominate southern europe, so I would be interested to know where you get you figures from.
We should endeavour to tell the truth; becasue it is not always plain black or plain white.
Robert
I agree, it is hard to be exactly black and white. however, regarding statistics, we should always refer the readers to those independant research institute for judgement, like ESTIF.
The figures we got is from our manufacturers output to Spain and Portugal and Italy divided by the total for those countries is from ESTIF report for 2006.
http://www.estif.org/index.php?id=46&backPID=2&pS=1&tt_news=128
Proactive innovation of Genersys’s manufacturer is the role model of everyone in the industry should be learning. We very appreciate Genersys’s product quality.
The trouble is that ESTIF have to rely on the manufacturers’ returns; some exaggerate and others don’t fill them in!
Robert
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThe heat stresses in any thermal solar panels are very high. A panel operates and heats up and down over a greater temperature range than a jumbo jet’s wings are subjected to. Sometimes individual vacuum tubes break and have to be … [...]