EST has finally published its report into solar hot water field trials (the work was going on before I left the Trust 18 months ago). It makes fascinating reading. Perhaps a few headlines are worth noting:
Some systems deliver up to 60% of the required hot water load.
The worst performing system provided only 9%.
Median performance was 39%.
What comes through very clearly is that user behaviour is all important. This is not surprising but is something that is often missing from advice from installers and, indeed, is not necessarily adequately covered by independent advisors either. It make common sense to time your hot water usage and back-up firing of the boiler to maximise the potential for harnessing solar energy but how many users have (a) been advised about this or (b) thought it through for themselves?
The same is true for those with PV installations.
So often in all things energy saving the technolgy is only part of the story - behaviour makes a huge difference.
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