Paphos Life

I would recommend Andi at Solartec. They are diagonally opposite Paps main branch in town

https://andisolartec.com/

No there not Trev. Building has been flattened....

I noticed that yesterday.

2 corners have been flattened.

daveg wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:39 am No there not Trev. Building has been flattened....

Thanks for that info I suppose one can just use the phone number.
I would certainly have them if I was having a new system

In my opinion it is most important that your installer of PV is not only using the newest technology and the technicians are experts what they are doing.
To look only the cheapest price is perhaps not the best and as it is a long term investment to produce your electricity for the next decades also very important is if the company you choose is also existing after all this years.

PV installers come and go. I was having PV installed in my properties as early as 1995 and every couple of years I had to find another installer, because they just disappeared. I am talking of companies from Nicosia and Limassol as well.

Depending the size of an solar installation you should also think about the future and perhaps heat your house with electricity instead of gas/diesel with an electric air to water heat pump from your own electricity produced from the sun. (Big business in Germany now !!!)

Max

trevnhil wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:11 am I would recommend Andi at Solartec. They are diagonally opposite Paps main branch in town

https://andisolartec.com/

I also recommend Andi and have done so to others who have been delighted with the work done.

Andi was given 20 hours notice to vacate before the demolition. Fortunately he only lives only a few 100 meters away, so was able to move his gear quickly and is biding his time to decide on a new location but otherwise is trading normally and was our place only a few days after the demolition work.

He can still be contacted via his mobile which is 99 647164.

Ian

cyprusmax47 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:18 pmyou should also think about the future and perhaps heat your house with electricity instead of gas/diesel with an electric air to water heat pump from your own electricity produced from the sun. (Big business in Germany now !!!)

Max

I'm wondering whether for heating purposes thermic solar panels ( the vacuum tube type) in combination with underfloor heating and heating by aircons wouldn't be more cost efficient. They could also be used for pool heating.

jeba wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 7:33 pm

cyprusmax47 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:18 pmyou should also think about the future and perhaps heat your house with electricity instead of gas/diesel with an electric air to water heat pump from your own electricity produced from the sun. (Big business in Germany now !!!)

Max

I'm wondering whether for heating purposes thermic solar panels ( the vacuum tube type) in combination with underfloor heating and heating by aircons wouldn't be more cost efficient. They could also be used for pool heating.

The problem arrives in Winter. When you need heating because it is too cold in your house, then there is normally not much sunshine but many clouds.
So, not enough energy will come from the solar thermal panels, however the outside temperature which a air-to-water heat pump uses, is still high enough to get good results. Of course if you have frost all day long it is a different story, but how many times we have that situation in Paphos district?

Another fact is that you need at least 15-20 m2 of thermal solar panels in order to heat a medium size house which cannot be efficient as you need the energy only some month in the year. The remaining time they have no function and are better covered up in Summer to avoid overheating.

Max

I would recommend Green Air too. I have always found them to be very professional, not just with Solar products but other stuff too.

cyprusmax47 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 9:06 am

jeba wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 7:33 pm

cyprusmax47 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:18 pmyou should also think about the future and perhaps heat your house with electricity instead of gas/diesel with an electric air to water heat pump from your own electricity produced from the sun. (Big business in Germany now !!!)

Max

I'm wondering whether for heating purposes thermic solar panels ( the vacuum tube type) in combination with underfloor heating and heating by aircons wouldn't be more cost efficient. They could also be used for pool heating.

The problem arrives in Winter. When you need heating because it is too cold in your house, then there is normally not much sunshine but many clouds.
So, not enough energy will come from the solar thermal panels, however the outside temperature which a air-to-water heat pump uses, is still high enough to get good results. Of course if you have frost all day long it is a different story, but how many times we have that situation in Paphos district?

Another fact is that you need at least 15-20 m2 of thermal solar panels in order to heat a medium size house which cannot be efficient as you need the energy only some month in the year. The remaining time they have no function and are better covered up in Summer to avoid overheating.

Max

Is that true even for vacuum tube collectors? And would your assessment change if the heat could be used in summer as well to heat the pool (I wouldn´t enter below at least 29°C water temperature)? What I´m mulling over is using my existing 4 kWp PV device to heat the house using the aircon (I´ve been doing that in the house I´m currently renting which has no insulation at all and I still have more than enough credit in my net-metering account) and in addition to that using vacuum tube panels for additional underfloor heating (maybe supplemented by electric underfloor heating).

I use my 4 kw PV system for all electric , including underfloor heating via a heat pump....and Inverter A/C 's ...
Doesn't entirely produce enough electricity, but am altering Hot Water system soon which should improve the o/a situation.
I intend to just use the Heat Pump for underfloor heating and have a stand alone hot water tank ,which will be smaller than existing....

daveg wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 5:45 pm
I intend to just use the Heat Pump for underfloor heating and have a stand alone hot water tank ,which will be smaller than existing....

My favourite solar hot water system is still very little known in Cyprus. The only thing one can see on the roof are 3 photo-voltaic modules, producing the electricity, while the hot water tank is somewhere in the house. This means tank is not loosing heat at night like all the systems one can see on the roofs. But more important for me: there is no more that ugly look on top of the houses.

As far as I know Green Air have this system in stock!
http://en.awasol.com/EN/selacal.html

Max

cyprusmax47 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 7:22 pm

daveg wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 5:45 pm
I intend to just use the Heat Pump for underfloor heating and have a stand alone hot water tank ,which will be smaller than existing....

My favourite solar hot water system is still very little known in Cyprus. The only thing one can see on the roof are 3 photo-voltaic modules, producing the electricity, while the hot water tank is somewhere in the house. This means tank is not loosing heat at night like all the systems one can see on the roofs. But more important for me: there is no more that ugly look on top of the houses.

As far as I know Green Air have this system in stock!
http://en.awasol.com/EN/selacal.html

Max

Isn't the efficacy of PV-panels a lot worse than that of thermic solar panels? Wouldn't it be a waste to use their electricity for heating up water?

jeba wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 4:15 pm

cyprusmax47 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 9:06 am

jeba wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 7:33 pm

I'm wondering whether for heating purposes thermic solar panels ( the vacuum tube type) in combination with underfloor heating and heating by aircons wouldn't be more cost efficient. They could also be used for pool heating.

The problem arrives in Winter. When you need heating because it is too cold in your house, then there is normally not much sunshine but many clouds.
So, not enough energy will come from the solar thermal panels, however the outside temperature which a air-to-water heat pump uses, is still high enough to get good results. Of course if you have frost all day long it is a different story, but how many times we have that situation in Paphos district?

Another fact is that you need at least 15-20 m2 of thermal solar panels in order to heat a medium size house which cannot be efficient as you need the energy only some month in the year. The remaining time they have no function and are better covered up in Summer to avoid overheating.

Max

Is that true even for vacuum tube collectors? And would your assessment change if the heat could be used in summer as well to heat the pool (I wouldn´t enter below at least 29°C water temperature)?

If you have a heating system for the pool, you would need also a pool cover! There are plenty people which have NO pool heating but a solar pool cover, which is enough for most time of the year to have a comfortable water temperature. Extra heat from thermal solar panels would be too much...

Perhaps members on here from Polemi would confirm that!

Max

Saw some old friends who were here on holiday, they were telling us about another couple who we know but not very well, how they had a heat pump installed, it cost 32 grand it broke down and the company that installed could not fix it and refused to replace it as it was no longer under warranty. I don't know the company name, but be careful.

Also
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/arti ... aqNSRnNy1U

Uncle D wrote: ↑Sat Oct 23, 2021 5:18 pm Also
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/arti ... aqNSRnNy1U

I believe they work better with underfloor heating as opposed to radiators. Underfloor heating works at around 32°C, ours is very comfortable but presently runs off heating oil which is becoming very expensive that's why I'm going for a heat pump from Green Air.

jeba wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 8:20 pm Isn't the efficacy of PV-panels a lot worse than that of thermic solar panels? Wouldn't it be a waste to use their electricity for heating up water?

Yes, at the best, the efficiency of PV is about 20%. In practice, count on 15% with most panels and then knock off another 5% for the accumulation of dust and other factors. Thermal heating may reach as high as 30% with decent panels but, again, knock off the other 5%. One of the worst sins in this country is to orient the panels too close to the horizontal. This is better than adequate in the summer but is poor in winter. I have mine at about 55°, making them more efficient as the sunlight hits them closer to 90°, which is the most efficient for both PV and water heating. This year, with three of us, we have not yet heated any water, other than from the sun.

Devil wrote: ↑Sat Oct 23, 2021 6:52 pm Thermal heating may reach as high as 30% with decent panels but, again, knock off the other 5%.

That´s for flatbed collectors. For vacuum tube collectors it´s double as much (and more). Which is why I can´t understand why they aren´t more common hereabout. In winter flatbed collectors aren´t very useful for heating puposes.

Devil wrote: ↑Sat Oct 23, 2021 6:52 pm I have mine at about 55°, making them more efficient as the sunlight hits them closer to 90°, which is the most efficient for both PV and water heating. This year, with three of us, we have not yet heated any water, other than from the sun.

Even in January/February? Are you talking about flatbed or vacuum tube collectors?

jeba wrote: ↑Sat Oct 23, 2021 8:10 pm In winter flatbed collectors aren´t very useful for heating puposes.
Even in January/February? Are you talking about flatbed or vacuum tube collectors?

I'm not very sure what you mean by "heating purposes". I agree they are useless for house heating. And we have top quality (expensive) flatbed water heaters. These were replaced only this year, so I misled you about January/February, sorry! I'm talking to up the present date. With the previous ones, we would have been obliged to have used a supplement of electric heating by this time of year. Possibly more important is the fact that the panels are not flat nor even at a roof angle. I don't know the exact angle were set at but they are much nearer vertical (probably 55 to 60°) than is usual and this makes a big difference, especially at this time of year. How many times have people remarked to me why the panel is much nearer vertical than is usual in this country, even asked by heating "experts". It's probably less important to angle the photovoltaic panels because of optical diffusion within the junctions but I cannot be categorical on this point