Installing a solar water heating system is not very difficult and most of the installation can be done by a competent DIY er.
This guide will be broken down into basic steps covering each part of the installation in brief, this guide will cover the panel assembly and installation on the roof, pump group, controller and cylinder.Installing Panels on a tiled roof.
Most tiled roofs are self supporting and therefore it is quite easy to install solar panels on a tiled roof.
Step 1.Push a row of tiles up underneath the tiles above, to expose the roof trusses underneath, the size of the panel will determine how many tiles you need to push up.
22 tube collector 2m (baton size)
15 tube collector 1.5m (baton size)
Step 2
Secure the appropriately sized baton which should be the the combined depth of your tile and support baton of the tile, approximately 3 inches in width and 1.5m to 2m length dependent on solar panel size.
Attach the roof anchor supplied with the kit to the baton, it is important that you ensure when you slide the top tile back into place that it has about 20mm of space between the tile and the upstanding part of the roof anchor.
Step 3Once your support batons are in place the measurements should be accurate.
x should equal 1.2m to 1.7m dependent on size of panel
y should be 1.4m apart from fixing nut to fixing nut, if this is not possible then align it according to the side rail of the solar collector as there are a number of fixing points available.
Check your batons and roof anchors are sited correctly by measuring the diagonal measurements bottom left to top right and bottom right to top left, both the measurements should be exactly the same for the panel to fit without looking off centre.
The end result should be a a set of roof anchors that are the correct spacing appart with the tiles retaining the water seal.
The same method is used with slate roofs however since the slates are nailed in place it does make it more difficult as a number of tiles need to be removed using a special slate nail removing tool.
When installing solar panels it is important that safety procedures are followed and all the correct safety epuipment is used to protect you and others.
Once the roof anchors are installed you can now fix the panel to the roof by sliding the side rails in place. The top and bottom holes of the side rails should align with the bolts on the roof anchors.
Ensure the panel is correctly aligned and then tighten the bolts to secure the panel of the roof.
Next Step>: Manifold and frame assembly