You can either sit across from a solar energy salesman, going cockeyed because you don’t understand a word she/he’s saying, and they are so in the groove of the technicalities that they don’t even realise that you’ve glazed over completely, or, you can speak to the experts at Renaissance Solar who have no need to complicate an already complicated subject.
They have absolute empathy for anyone coming in off the street, with no prior knowledge or experience of anything solar, barring that it comes from the sun, giving of their time and knowledge to simplify a process that will shave off up to 50% off your Eskom bill monthly.
That, and the fact that solar energy is a step closer to respecting and protecting our environment, is what it’s all about for this team.
Renaissance Solar has put over ten years into providing quality solar water heating systems and solar geysers to clients at greater than fair prices, ensuring that although they’ve made solar geysers affordable, they’ve also maintained a total commitment to quality products.
Here are a few of the questions you might like to line up ahead of chatting to the team (of course you don’t need any lined up, just to call and pick these brains!)
The bare basics
All you want is to know more or less how a solar water heating system works, so for a start, comfort yourself with the knowledge that at the bare minimum, all you need is the solar geyser and the attending solar panel that’ll absorb the heat of the sun and turn it magically into hot water. The rest, well, that’s what Renaissance Solar is there for!
The real technicalities can safely be left in the hands of these experts, who will reduce it all to a bite size that you’ll be able to digest easily.
In the end all you really want is to have free hot water by the time you’ve reached the end of the two or three year payback period, isn’t it?
Size of the solar geyser?
This will depend solely on the size of your family, but they’re available in 150lt, 200lt and 300lt capacities, and, finding out what size or combination of panels you’ll need to suit the size of your geyser will be something this team will be happy to demystify for you.
Direct or indirect system?
If you live in an area that is frost-free, a direct system will be best for you. It moves the water directly from the solar collector to the geyser, whereas an indirect system, best for frost areas, employs a heat transfer liquid like anti-freeze to act as a conduit between the solar collector and the heat exchanger in a solar geyser, delivering hot water despite frost.
What about winter?
Well, winter in South Africa is a hundred times better than that of Europe for instance, which means you can relax and know that the water will still be hot when clouds and rain obscure the sun!
If they can do it, we most certainly can, and we can even thumb our noses at them from the tip of Africa!
Will the water be hot enough?
Absolutely! A SWH system can easily heat your water to 60 degrees Celsius and more, which is scalding, so take care in the heat of summer. In general, we are comfortable in the shower at 42 degrees Celsius, which makes for a happy family all round!
What about maintenance?
You won’t be spending extra money or time on maintenance with your Renaissance Solar SWH system. A good service once every few years will keep your system healthy and in good shape for longer than you could anticipate, and, you’ll have the kind of backup service from this team that is priceless.
Other questions?
There will be those that touch on your budget, how long the system will last, how much you’ll save and what the payback period will be depending on the size of system you have installed, but these are all points that’ll come up immediately when you meet with the team at Renaissance Solar, without you having to wrack your brains.
Whatever it is that you need to know to make the switch to solar energy, whether it’s a SWH, Hybrid and Grid Tie PV System or heat pump, these are the experts in the field who make life easier for those of us ready to leap into the future of green energy!
