Solar panels have been around for a long time. Most people in the UK are familiar with the concept of using the sun’s energy to provide electricity and heating. Solar thermal panels simply collect the heat from the sun and convert this directly into heat for hot water and heating.
Solar thermal panels can help reduce heating bills and are relatively straight-forward to install. They are long-lasting, requiring minimal maintenance and emiting less CO2 than traditional fossil fuel-based heating systems. However, solar panels can only be used on a building depending on its alignment to the sun and they are less efficient on cloudy days or if they are covered in snow. Also, solar panels are unlikely to fulfil peak demand for heating and hot water requirements on their own, thus requiring another heating system to be in place as a back-up.
