Solar Thermal
This would deploy solar thermal panels on the roof of a home, or community building, which heats water for both heating and hot water. On its own solar thermal would be unlikely to be able to heat all year round, but it may be an option when combined with other sources.
How It Works
Water Heating
Heats water passing through solar panels
Solar thermal use the sun to heat water passing through their panels.
It’s unlikely to be able to provide enough heat to be a standalone solution. But it may have a couple of uses as part of a broader solution:
A heat network could use to provide supplemental ambient water heating, improving the efficiency of the system.
Individual homes can use to provide supplemental heating, particularly for hot water.
On Lower Mill Estate it may provide supplemental water heating for swimming pools.
There is a new type of solar voltaic panel that combines solar thermal into the same panel – they provide both electricity and hot water and the water cools the solar voltaic part of the panel which increases its efficiency. However, this is new technology so may not yet be ready for our use.