Introduction

They used to say using solar energy to produce electricity (Solar Photovoltaic - PV) or to heat water (Solar Thermal) would never work in countries with climates like Britain’s.

Even now the photovoltaic systems are still too expensive and inefficient to be a viable option for most people. But in the time since the early solar thermal installations some 30-years ago, vacuum tube technology has been developed so that solar thermal is now the most cost effective form of renewable energy available.

Think of the vacuum tube panel as a boiler, except for the fact that it uses clean, free energy instead of an expensive, dirty fossil fuel. The system collects and traps the suns energy and then uses it to heat your water, which is stored in your hot water cylinder until it is needed. Your existing boiler or immersion heater will top up the water temperature if required.

The days of flat mildew covered solar panels, which only worked in hot and sunny conditions, are gone - a modern vacuum tube system works even without direct sunshine and operates virtually independently of the ambient air temperature, so you can enjoy the benefit of solar heated water all year round. A good system will typically provide you with 60-75% of your domestic hot water throughout the year and operate for 25-years with no loss of performance.

Worries about vacuum tubes failing and system efficiency being lost are also a thing of the past. With the new ‘thermos flask’ design of vacuum tubes, a glass-glass seal has replaced the unreliable glass-metal seal. The LaZer2 panels used by Solar Systems require no scheduled no maintenance and boast a 25-year manufacturers warranty.

It doesn’t matter whether you have a vented or unvented hot water system or even a Combi boiler; you can still take advantage of the free clean energy produced by a LaZer2 Solar System.

Grants, Allowances & Loans

There are currently grants of £500 per system available to households in England, Wales & Northern Ireland. In Scotland domestic grants of up to 30% of the installed cost are available. VAT of only 5% is payable on installed solar systems.

For non-profit community organisations grants of up to 50% can be claimed, whilst businesses may be able to take advantage of 100% capital allowances and interest free loans.