Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Solar Thermal

Solar Thermal is the way we harness the energy from the Sun to produce heat, and as the Sun's energy is free, all it costs is the initial cost of installing the solar collecting equipment.

This type of equipment uses a solar panel to collect heat from the Sun. The energy from the Sun heats a liquid flowing through pipes within the solar panel, these pipes then run into your hot water tank, and heat the cold water.

It is estimated that a solar thermal system can provide 50 to 75% of a home's domestic hot water requirements. They can contribute to hot water throughout the year, although additional heat will be required from electric or gas during the winter.

These systems are ideally suited to buildings with flat roofs, or sloping roofs which face within 45 degrees of south, and can be integrated into most existing domestic hot water systems which use a hot water tank.

Solar thermal is often the most cost effective method of using renewable energy.

For information about grants and funding please refer to The Low Carbon Buildings Programme link (to the bottom of this page).

Web Links

Stockton Council is not responsible for the content of external websites.

• The Low Carbon Buildings Programme