The Heat Is (Finally) On!

Tada! We have solar thermal, and it's good stuff! I have to say my previous dabblings with solar thermal were fun, instructive and successful as far as they went, but this system really shone today, as did the sun.

A few delays this morning garnering supplies meant I didn't get into gear until just after 11am so I figured I only had a short window of opportunity for making the most of the sun round the back of the van.

Well...

Hot supply to sink tap connected up.

Cold feed to calorifier hooked up. I opted for a hose connection plus an isolator valve at each end just in case I needed to remove anything in future.

Feed and expansion (header tank) all plumbed in and topped up with 6 litres of water. Pump conversion in and doing, thermal sensors coupled to panel and return pipe and electrics all in and working.

Pump supply wired in to plant-room spur and controlled by the differential thermostat. The green light shows power is on and the red light indicates that the pump is running.

Ok, so you can't really tell from a photo, but the water coming out of the tap at around 2pm was gorgeously hot...almost to the point where I was seriously thinking about having to install a tempering valve in case it got too hot. At 4pm this afternoon, with the sun away from the panel, there was still enough diffuse heat and light for the system to be generating useful heat.

I also trimmed the return on the worktop, tidied up the kitchenette a little and swept the floor for even more feelgood factor.

So thus far a toilet/plant room with composting loo, solar hot water and a rainwater filtration and harvesting system, a kitchenette with hot and cold running water, electrics and storage and an 11ft office space with lights, power and a sound system. Just the solar PV to install now, a network and phone hookup, the final finishing and fitting out and Retrotecchie's new 'office' is ready to rock!