wellinever

Hi
Good question, I have not done that.
Just made the film and will upload to you tube shortly.
In meantime I will reset the boiler (presume it will get rid of any current instructions, if any exist) and then go through the procedure again doing what you suggest.

wellinever

Uploaded a video on youtube showing how the boiler is working with solar now.
This is prior to resetting and following Richards suggestion

wellinever

sorry this is small; do not know how to show it on youtube itself where it is bigger

wellinever

Now realize if you right click on the video you can copy the url and paste it in your browser to get fuller screen on youtube.

Furthermore, I turned off the boiler yesterday with the sun out all day and only hot water usage was a 5 min shower this morning. Again today full sun all day.
Checking the temperature of the solar water.........after shower this morning the temp was 42 deg C, at 5 pm this afternoon (after all day winter sun, but pretty hot in my garden) the highest temper ature frm the solar was at 52C. No hot water used all day.
So not very impressed really. The valve at the solar is set at 60C max, but it didnt even reach that after all day.
I suppose the system would just about hold its own if the sun was out all day every day and there was only one person taking a shower in the morning. Anymore use and the amount of cold water replacing the hot would gradually lower the temperature until back up was needed, and that with the sun out.
Of course there would be plenty of realy hot water i the summer, just when you need loads of hot water !!
Added to that the fact that washing machines are now all cold fill only, you cant save money clothes washing.
So not impressed after spending a forced e2000 inc installation and IVA.
Only one winner here, Portugal coffers with the IVA.
Payback for me I reckon is in excess of 20 years and thats without any maintenance or replacements being needed.

wellinever

Interesting site here
https://processheatingservices.com/h...me-calculator/

Shows that to heat 300litrs of water from 42C to 52C would take 2 hours using a 2KwH imersion heater. and at €0.15/kwH that would be €0.30 standard rate.
That is 6666 days. if needed 16 weeks a year that would be 59 years !!!!

macliam

So, you're now concerned about the solar system...... there are many reasons why this may not be as efficient as it could be. I've wittered on about this before, but how has your accumulator been set up? - does it face south and what is the angle of the panel?
Due to the abundance of sun in the summer, installers here seem not to be too bothered about the niceties of efficiency - but that's what you need to make best use of solar in the winter. Depending on the type of collector (vacuum tubes give more tolerance) your panel should face South, otherwise there will be a drop in efficiency. If your panel is set at 30 degrees (which many installers seem to like), it will not be at it's most efficient for you - and particularly not during the winter. As a rule of thumb, the best overall angle should be equal to your latitude, BUT there is a variance between Summer and Winter..... and as there IS an overabundance of sun in the summer, it's the winter efficiency you'll be more concerned about......https://www.solartubs.com/solar-collector-angle.html.

liveaboard

Exactly; we are close to the winter solstice and the sun is 30 degrees from the horizon at midday; to get max efficiency your collector needs to be at 60 degrees, closer to standing up than lying down.
and facing south of course.
90% of Installers mount them at 30 degrees, which gives the most energy gain over the year, but then you get the bulk of it in summer when you don't need as much. They assume everyone will use the backup system in winter, and very few people are even aware of how much their collector collects, and how much the backup system gets used.

45 or 50 degrees of angle would be a good compromise.

macliam

Yes, I've found it quite shocking that people seem totally unaware of the amount of electricity consumed as "backup" in the winter months. When I requested that my solar system be connected to my backboiler (since I would be using that for direct and central heating in the winter), it was as if I was talking Greek. When I then suggested the output be run through a gas boiler, both as an "added" heat element and to provide "instant" hot water when required (i.e. less than a couple of hours!) I was told (in that most frequent Portuguese way) that this was "not possible". When I showed them it was on the internet, the shrug said "maybe elsewhere, but not here". Even without a boiler specifically designed to work from a solar system, a higher input temperature will mean less gas is consumed for the water to reach the temperature required for output.

wellinever

The solar faces due south on a 125m/2 flat roof, so no obstructions. The angle of the panels was set at 38deg. Yes I was aware of the lower angle in winter but couldnt stand the panels being any higher sitting on a flat roof as they do. So yes a bit of compromise there, but at worst loose about 5% efficiency. And being a bungalow the solar system sits about 2 mtres above the boiler, whcih is in the kitchen and the manifold sits very close. SO I have no idea why it takes pure solar water 40 seconds before hot water reaches the tap, and even longer to the farthest bathroom where it took over 2 minutes this mornng to reach the shower which is about 8 mtres from the kitchen tap. You can imagine how much water is wasted with this system. It annoyed me that the process of building a new house insists that solar water is used, when in reality it is clearly not a workable solution. Loads of hot water when you dont need it, and not enough when you do. However they will not allow PV panels as a contribution to renewable energy, smething which is much more efficient, no maintenance, last for ever and gives usable energy for modern low use houses (3 bed house total leccy needed if all lights are on is 120 watts).
It should be the job of gov to control efficient renewable leccy in a country not down to dictating to individuals.

liveaboard

That's the problem when engineering needs conflict with aesthetic needs; you end up with something that doesn't work.

I have a plan for total solar house heating, but no one wants to put up with the big collectors it needs.