Vokera
Vokera supply solutions for Solar Water Heating and Air Source Heating. The Solar Water Heating models come under the Zenith range and the Air Source Heating systems under the Aria label.
Flat Plate Solar heating collectors
Flat plate collectors absorb the suns energy via a large single sheet of specially coated copper that is encased in an insulated protective frame. The copper absorber sheet is welded to copper pipes to transfer the energy absorbed into the copper sheet to the liquid that circulates in the copper pipes, which is then transferred to a water cylinder.
Flat plate collectors can be less expensive than Evacuated tubes and are more robust, however in certain circumstances, evacuated tubes can provide better efficiencies.
Solar heating collectors perform best when facing a south, south west or south easterly direction, if your roof is facing east/west, then you can still benefit from Solar thermal heating by having one collector positioned on the east side of your roof and the other on the west (this is known as a split system).
You can get flat plate collectors that sit on top of your roof tiles for a simple retrofit installation, or flat plate collectors that are inset into your roof tiles, which provides a more aesthetically pleasing finish.
The ideal angle of inclination of your roof should also be around 35-45 degrees to maximize the amount of energy the collector can absorb as it passes across the skyline, however, if your roof has an angle of inclination outside of the ideal 35-45 degrees, then the solution could be to have an Evacuated tube collector
Evacuated Tube Solar thermal collectors
Evacuated tube collectors work in the same way that a flat plate collector works, except, instead of one single flat sheet of specially coated copper, evacuated tubes have a series of specially coated cylindrical copper absorber sheets, each inside a vacuumed glass tube. There are usually between 7-20 tubes in a collector depending on which brand you choose. The vacuumed tubes enable good retention of the absorbed energy, making the evacuated tube collector more efficient in some applications. The Evacuated tube collector can be installed in a wider range of applications, which also makes it a more flexible solution to maximise Solar heating
Air Source Heating
Air source heating appliances are ideal for use with underfloor heating systems due to the lower temperatures required, which is approx 40 degrees C. The heat generated can also be passed into a water cylinder to help heat domestic hot water.
Air source heating appliances are usually situated outside a property; they lend themselves well to existing and new build properties due to a minimal installation preparation, which predominantly entails ensuring a flat and stable foundation. Air source heating appliances are also quite often used to heat swimming pools.
Air source heating appliances run off of a low amount of electricity in comparison to the energy return, the measure of the energy input versus the energy output is called a Coefficient of Performance and is usually shown as a ratio, for example 1:3.9 which is 1kW electricity used to generate 3.9kW of heat generated. Air source heating appliances can achieve varying performances, and will often quote the Coefficient of Performance which can be used to compare different brands of Air source heating appliances.
