What’s the difference between flat plate and evacuated tube panels?
Evacuated tube collectors collect and retain more energy over the period of a day as the tubes (being round), passively track the sun. The heat loss is minimal as little escapes through the vacuum and as the fluid does not pass through the tubes each one can be removed and replaced if required. Som of our systems can be used without anti freeze. i.e. The system is freeze-free; eliminating the initial cost of the glycol and eliminating the cost of checking and replacing the fluid every two years. On windy days the heat from flat plate collectors can be blown away because of the single glazed panel that can lose typically 35% of its energy gathered. This is typically around 5 to 7% on our evacuated tube system. The design life is approximately 30 years on most collectors.
