- After the installer’s measured up, given you an estimated output and recommended some systems for you, they’ll arrange date to come to your home to install the solar thermal panels. They’ll also let you know if any scaffolding will be required.
- Next, they will start to fit the panels, or collectors, to your roof. Stainless steel brackets will be provided with the system and they will remove your roof tiles or slates to attach the brackets to the rafters. They’ll then replace the tiles and add waterproof flashing to ensure you don’t get any roof leaks, and add the frame.
- If you’ve chosen evacuated tube solar thermal panels, the installer will bolt the heat transfer unit to the top of the frame but not install the tubes until nearer the end. This is because the tubes start to transfer heat to the exchanger immediately, and when everything is unconnected this could damage the unit.
- If you don’t need a new boiler with your installation, a new dual coil water cylinder, pump and system control system will be fitted. It’s best in a loft or upper floor of your home.
- A new thermal store or hot water tank that will store the heat provided by the solar system is much larger than a standard tank but it may fit in the spot of your old one. The installer will ensure that it’s connected to the mains cold water, your other heating source (such as a gas boiler or biomass boiler), immersion heater, temperature sensors and the solar collectors themselves.
- Next they will install the pumping station, usually near the water tank. The expansion tank will be installed on the solar thermal loop, which is usually nearby. Its job is to prevent pressure changes that could damage the system.
- You’ll get a heat generation meter which must be MCS-certified if you want to take advantage of the RHI, and any control equipment that comes with the system will be installed.
- The installers will then bring the system to pressure by pumping the heat transfer liquid into the system up to a pressure of around 2 bar.
- Finally, your MCS-registered installer will register your solar thermal system so you can apply for RHI payments of up to £525 per year. So that’s the process of installing solar thermal panels. Remember – it's always best to use a professional to install any kind of renewable technology.
Abbey Wood
Abbey Wood is a district in south east London, in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It's south of Thamesmead and 10.6 miles east of Charing Cross. The area took its name from Lesnes Abbey Woods, which is to the east, and once belonged to the monks of Lesnes Abbey.
The history of the district extends back to the 12th century, when Richard de Luci, Chief Justiciar of England, founded the Abbey of St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr at Lesnes in 1178. The Abbott of Lesnes Abbey was a significant local landlord, and took a major part in draining the marshland. The draining plus the expense of sustaining river embankments was among the reasons for the Abbey's desperate financial difficulties. It never became a sizable community, so in 1525 Cardinal Wolsey closed it under a licence to shut monasteries of less than 7 inmates.
Abbey Wood railway station was opened in 1849, immediately towards the north of the area now generally known as 'The Village', constructed exactly where Knee Hill became Harrow Manorway. The Village had around 12 cottages and two pubs - the Abbey Arms and the Harrow Inn. The Harrow Inn, which was demolished in 2009, hosted live bands and was the scene of nightly migration as guests would relocate to the Abbey Arms every evening, as Kentish closing times were 10:30pm whereas the Abbey Arms closed at 11pm.
