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PLUMBING CONNECTION
AUTUMN 2015
SOLAR HOT WATER REPAIRS AND
REPLACEMENT PARTS
S
olar hot water heating is not new technology. In fact,
it has been available in Australia for decades through
well known companies like Solahart, who have been
producing solar hot water heaters for more than 60 years.
The technology associated with this style of heating has
advanced though. Over the last several years, we have seen
the introduction of evacuated tubes and hot water heat
pumps, along with new flat panel technology in various
combinations. It is a continually changing market sector
and as products become more efficient, higher temperature
components are being developed to keep up with the heat
generated by modern-day designed solar hot water heaters.
The introduction of solar hot water rebates and the
small scale renewable energy scheme accelerated the
industry some years ago. Rebates and STCs could in fact
be be calculated as high as $2700. On a national average
government incentives could cover up to 40% of the
system’s purchase price; however, in some cases, depending
on the manufacture, the percentage could be a lot higher.
The incentives for the average Australian to buy solar hot
water was increased over a short period of time which meant
that the incentives for new manufacturers to make a quick
dollar was also increased. The increase of solar hot water
installations was so high in fact that a special licence for
plumbers installing solar hot water systems was introduced
to ensure installations were of a similar standard. Between
2010 and 2011 alone the number of models of solar hot
water systems with a capacity of 700L or less registered
for STCs (RECs at the time) and government incentives
exceeded over 2500 models!
Some system designs from around the peak of the
government incentive were pretty basic. The newer
manufactures seemed to take a similar approach of fitting
imported collectors to Australian WaterMarked hot water
systems, adding a pump and some form of controller. It
was simple and allowed high turnover of product. This basic
way of designing a system came with its various problems
though. These included: circulating pumps without covers
installed outside; solar tank porting issues for flow and
return lines; sensor port positions or lack of any sensor
wells. Some sensor wells were positioned as little as 80mm
into the cold water inlet, some were strapped to the pipe
work, while others simply placed between the hot water
cylinder in its outer casing.
The area of warranties for systems became a fierce
battleground for some manufactures as new manufacturers
entered the market. Tanks and collectors were offering 5, 7,
10 and 15 year warranties. Unfortunately, basic components
could have as little as two years warranty, which most
customers would find out later. When the system had
stopped the component warranty period was no longer
effective. The other issue with these warranties, as people
are starting to find out, some manufactures no longer exist.
They left with the government incentives.
There are just some of the contributing factors that force
some plumbers to shy away from solar hot water repairs.
WITH A GROWING NEED FOR SOLAR HOT WATER REPAIRS AND A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE CIRCULATING IN THE
INDUSTRY, WE’VE ENLISTED THE HELP OF SOLAR REPAIR EXPERT
MATHEWBRIGGS
TO START A COLUMN
DEDICATED TO MAKING THE JOB EASIER FOR YOU.
SOLAR FIX
MATHEW BRIGGS