The surprising cost of free hot water

As you approach Alauzon you may notice eight large solar panels in the field in front of the house. They look like photo-voltaic panels but they are actually for heating water (our photo-voltaic panels are on the roof of the pool bar roof).

Our solar water heating panels with half the panels covered.

The panels work by collecting the heat from the sun and transferring this to a hot water tank. Most of our water heating needs for the house, the Grenier, and the Studio are met by these panels.

Now, you may notice that some of the panels are covered in a reflective insulating material. This is because during the summer months, there is simply too much hot water being produced, this causes the liquid in the panels to overheat and burst through the copper joints. This has involved numerous visits by plumbers over the years - probably costing more that if we just kept the pelllet boiler running - but often the ethical choice is the more expensive one.

We hoped to find a smart technological solution to the problem but were surprised to learn that there really isn’t one – other than covering the panels when it is too sunny! We will take them off in the autumn to make the most of the sun.