If you are committed to sustainability then space on the North facing roof is at premium.
One option may be to look at putting the solar hot water system on a West facing roof.
This will mean you can maximise the space for north facing Photo Voltaic (PV) solar panels.
Although the solar hot water system will not be quite as efficient there are a couple of reasons why it is a worthwhile option.
- If you check the solar alignment post you will see that its possible to get around 80% of the maximum efficiency compared with a North Facing system.
- For most families the time when you will be using most hot water is the evening and early morning. The West facing system will have less time to lose heat before use than the North facing system.
I’m not saying West facing is best but it can be a good compromise.
For more Green Ideas see Sustainability