Solar Hot Water Systems Brisbane & Sunshine Coast

Solar Hot Water Systems utilize the free energy from the sun to provide your hot water, saving you money. In fact, a solar hot water system, when installed correctly, should save you up to 80% of your hot water running costs – that’s about $200 a quarter for the average household of 4 persons.

If you are considering switching your hot water heating to solar, contact SunCity Hot Water for a obligation FREE quote. Specialising in hot water services Sunshine Coast & Brisbane North wide, SunCity has been your local hot water specialist since 2002. We offer a comprehensive range of hot water services including installations, repairs, servicing and replacements.

Whether you want a brand new system installed or you are just looking for some expert advice, we’ve got you covered. Give us a call today on 1300 728 122 for all of your solar hot water needs.

We service and install all the solar hot water brands -Bosch, Rinnai, Kelvinator, Envirosun, Conergy, Rheem solar hot water heaters , Edwards, Solahart, Beasley solar hot water systems with either gas or electric boosted back up for those not so great days without the sun. These types of hot water heaters are more environmentally friendly than your common electric hot water systems.

There are two main types of solar hot water systems: close coupled and split systems

Whether you want a brand new system installed or you are just looking for some expert advice, we’ve got you covered. Give us a call today on 1300 728 122 for all of your solar hot water needs.

Close Coupled Solar hot water systems commonly known as Roof Mounted Solar hot water heaters, have the panels & tank mounted on the roof. Not very aesthetically pleasing, in fact they look like a rolled up roller door on your roof, but when room on the ground is a problem or if you have an existing roof mounted solar that needs replacing, this becomes the cheapest option.

This type of solar water heater is old technology using thermosyphon to transfer heated water from panels to the tank. Hot water naturally rises, water from the panels heat & rise into the tank on one side & the colder water in the tank falls to the lowest point in the solar panels from the opposite side of the tank.

Unfortunately, this can waste a lot of water when the tank is overheated in summer & hotter days. To install these types if you don’t have an existing roof mounted solar hot water heater we will have to engage a building certifier or engineer to report that your roof is structurally sound to carry the 500+kg that these system weighs when they are full of hot water. By not doing this, if something was to happen to your home your insurance company could void your policy.

Split System Solar is when the storage tank is on the ground and the solar panels are on the roof, giving a more streamlined look to your roof. These models use a small circulating pump to feed the water through the collector panels to heat up and then back to the storage tank. These pumps are part of the system very small & quiet. They draw very little power to run, less than a radio, the water is pushed through around the 3 litres per minute rate heating up as it goes through the copper manifold inside the panels.

It is important with either system that it is installed correctly to gain maximum savings and hot water. No point having a solar hot water system if it’s not facing the sun, in south east QLD your panels should be facing within 45 degrees of north.

Flat Panels

There are 2 types of solar collectors available: flat panel & evacuated tubes

Flat Panels are a manifold of copper pipe that is inside the insulated frame & glass. They generally have flat copper plates behind the tubing & powder coated black to attract & absorb heat quickly.

The bottom is generally a 25mm copper tube with 15mm copper piping that is attached to both the top & bottom tubes (looks a bit like the old style pool fencing). This very simple design works well & has been proven for dozens of years. Very little, if any, maintenance is needed other than making sure your glass is clean.

Evacuated Tube Collectors collect the heat through a number of annealed glass tubes that each have their own heat-absorbing plate inside. There is an extensive array of different designs on the market, but the basic principle applies for all. Basically, each tube is like a little greenhouse that traps sunlight inside the glass tube which is used to heat either the water, or a special heat transfer fluid called propylene glycol, that transfers the heat to the water via copper pipes and a heat exchanger.

They come in different banks (generally 12, 24 & 36 tubes) and are very efficient. Some may say a bit too efficient as we have had cases where people have had 24 & 26 tube systems fitted by other companies & they make a rumbling noise on the roof & at the tank when the water is transferred back. Not a good idea in treed areas as they can trap leaves between the tubes making the system less efficient.

We have installed thousands of solar hot water heaters throughout Brisbane & the Sunshine Coast. We have many years of practical experience servicing & repairing existing solar hot water heaters of all brands & types. Our fully trained plumbers have restricted electrical licenses so there is no need for multiple types of tradesmen to fix a problem that you may encounter. This obviously reduces costs for your solar hot water system repairs.

Looking for Solar Hot Water Systems Sunshine Coast? We’re the Solar Hot Water Specialists!

We can repair, replace or install a new solar hot water system quickly and professionally.

For more technical information simply call us on 1300 728 122 or Darren directly on 0413 861 166

We carry in stock:

  • Envirosun Split system solar flat panel water heaters 250 to 400-litre tank storage capacity for the larger homes & water demands
  • Envirosun roof mounted solar hot water heaters that have stainless steel tanks & 5-year cylinder warranty.
  • Rinnai roof mounted solar water heaters that are also made from stainless steel & have a whopping 10 year tank warranty
  • Kelviator evacuated tube split solar hot water systems

SunCity Hot Water Plumbing provide a FAST & RELIABLE SERVICE to the Sunshine Coast & North Brisbane areas for all types & brands of Solar Hot water heaters. Call SunCity today for quality advice and installations for solar hot water Brisbane wide.