Solex solar roofing Installation Manual Download Page 1

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Solex Roofing Installation Manual

Revised 9

February 2010

Subject to ongoing revision – latest copy available online

Summary of Contents for solar roofing

Page 1: ...Solex Roofing Installation Manual Revised 9th February 2010 Subject to ongoing revision latest copy available online Solex Energy Ltd 2009 ...

Page 2: ...ofs 38 Installation skills 4 Tools 5 Electrical Installation Materials delivery and handling 5 Controller types 38 Sitework info for main contractor 6 Controller wiring 39 Health and safety considerations 7 Pump valve wiring 39 Sensor wiring 39 Roof installation Solar slates Wiring for pumped circuits 40 Roof construction 8 Controller programming 40 Absorbers 10 Slates 13 Maintenance Whole roof 14...

Page 3: ...red should ideally face south Orientations from SE to SW are fine with performance around 12 at the extremes Orientations as far as E or W still perform okay with performance at around 25 Given the choice and all other considerations being equal W or SW should be chosen over E or SE as ambient temperatures are higher in the afternoon increasing performance and also hot water and heating demand is ...

Page 4: ... the absorbers beneath Overall a uniform medium to light grey is observed which changes depending on weather conditions Planning Permission UK 1 Retrofit to dwelling house applies to All buildings except I II and II listed buildings All areas except some conservation areas where specific permitted development rights have been removed by the LPA Installing solar roofing is considered permitted deve...

Page 5: ...uty ceramic and natural slates and also with PV slates This is an easy to fit low labour requirement system Solar Tiles These polycarbonate single lap tiles are compatible with Marley Modern Redland Mini stonewold concrete tiles They are ideal for fitting into an existing concrete tiled roof Solar Cladding This is a lightweight solar cladding system for use over existing profile metal roofing Idea...

Page 6: ...e checked against this as soon as practical and in any event within 2 working days of delivery Any shortages or damage must be notified within 2 working days of delivery Thermal stores are either delivered from stock via a pallet carrier or direct from the manufacturer When delivered direct from the manufacturer the lorry will have no offloading facilities unless requested and the store must eithe...

Page 7: ...h stain the glass This may be removed with dilute hydrochloric acid although it will weather off within 6 months The system requires pipes generally 2x 22mm for systems 70m2 and a cable generally 1x 2 core running to the roof The system requires a vented expansion tank supplied by Solex located at least 500mm below the level of the bottom of the solar roof and not more than 4m from the top of the ...

Page 8: ...best done using a dustpan and brush When stacking loose slates vertically against an object e g scaffolding the edge of the first one should be protected with something soft When stacking loose slates horizontally ensure that no dirt or fragments are trapped between sheets which may cause damage Slates stacked loose horizontally are liable to slide sideways off the stack without warning causing da...

Page 9: ... co uk Roof Installation Solar slates The roof takes up a thickness of approx 70mm from the membrane upwards The roof loading at 34kg m2 is similar to that for natural or artificial slates The construction employed is conventional counterbattens and battens Alternative eaves arrangement ...

Page 10: ...iles The membrane can also be dressed down behind the facia although care must be taken over the fate of water running behind the facia picture eaves before installation of facia 4 Counterbattens 25mm thick counterbattens must be used These must go on top of the membrane and start from under the second batten as shown above 5 Insulation 25mm mineral fibre batts are cut to fit snugly between the co...

Page 11: ...e glass slates cannot be cut the battens for the eaves course must be spaced the same as for the subsequent courses The only exception is where longer eaves clips are used for a larger gutter overhang when the first two battens may be closer together The space between the first two battens must be kept clear for the absorber strip Similarly the battens should be gauged out so that there is a compl...

Page 12: ...unned to it at 300mm intervals Standard staples may be used as the absorber will be held in place by slate fixings which pierce the flange At the end of the course in the channel where the EPDM has been positioned the absorber is folded back on itself still keeping the flange at the top The individual tubes are then split away from each other so that each tube follows a natural curve down to the s...

Page 13: ...battens The top of the inlet manifold or chain of manifolds is capped with a short length of silicone tube and a plug as is the bottom of the outlet manifold or manifold chain Where the roof is sufficiently large to necessitate dividing it into parallel absorber circuits all the inlet manifolds are piped in line up one side and the outlets up the same or opposite side depending on an even or odd n...

Page 14: ...ture sensor is used to measure the temperature at the hottest point on the roof It is fitted beneath the absorber strip generally at a position at least 1 m from the top outlet manifold near the centre of the absorber and not close to any area obscured by conventional slates It should be positioned so that it will lie between two of the absorber tubes and not next to any dead area of the strip The...

Page 15: ...When screwing in the clips they should be tightened just enough to hold the sides of the slates below but must not be allowed to stress the glass which could lead to breakage later Pushing gently on the glass slate below the clip should release the tension The glass slates should be installed next to each other with a small gap 1mm between the slates and the screw of the hook Location 500 series m...

Page 16: ...of slates to the nearest half slate using the slating interval given The slates should overhang the verge wall by around 50 75mm taking account of whether a bargeboard will be used The verge can be finished using an undercloak of conventional slates in the normal manner or a dry fix verge can be installed Alternatively depending on local regulations the edges of the slates can be left as they are ...

Page 17: ...y fix ridge can be used over the glass solar slates 20 Valley polycarbonate slates are used up the edge of a valley 21 Polycarbonate slates these are easily cut with a jigsaw or handsaw over the edge of something solid e g using the gap between two scaffold boards They may be fixed using standard slate clips and or drilled and screwed When drilling take account of where the holes will fall in rela...

Page 18: ...lation should still be flush with the tops of the counterbattens At the bottom of the strip a row of glass eaves slates is used lapping over the other roofing material Usually a strip of lead flashing 150 200mm wide is required to obtain an adequate overlap This may be nailed to the first batten which should be 10mm max 25mm thicker to give a slight kick up At the top a row of glass ridge slates i...

Page 19: ...nsul Minimum pitch 25 30 sev exp 23 5 30 sev exp Maximum pitch 70 70 Battens 25 x 50mm 2mm durable timber SLATES Fixings Stainless steel slate hooks and screws Material Silicone Expected life 25 years Width 212mm 262mm Water channels 6 8 Channel diameter 8mm id 12mm od Fluid volume 300ml m 1450ml m2 400ml m 1550ml m2 Max length one piece 25m for 25 50m lengths contact Solex Loading 6kg m2 with flu...

Page 20: ...tion of solar slates the rafters should be of length c x g 50 f where c number of courses g batten gauge between centres and f facia board thickness 2 Membrane a breather membrane should be used laid across any of Rafters or Rafters with insulation between or Insulation sarking boards or Timber sarking boards The breather membrane MUST be laid correctly to form a waterproof layer which will drain ...

Page 21: ...lthough it will not be damaged by water If exposed to the weather most water will drain out down the membrane and the remainder will evaporate when the roof is watertight Note that the insulation supplied is the minimum recommended for the system Extra insulation especially in the form of foam insulation boards over the rafters will increase the efficiency of the system 6 EPDM the left and right c...

Page 22: ...three courses of 5 or a roof of 12 courses may be divided into circuits of 6 4 3 or exceptionally 2 courses depending on the overall length of the roof and therefore the length of absorber strip in each circuit The Roof Calculator will give some guidance although generally we recommend that each circuit does not exceed 40m in length which equates to around 12 5m2 of Nu lok standard roofing or 8 5m...

Page 23: ...kinking or squashing If it is necessary to join the strip the ends are trimmed off square using a pair of scissors and the wings on the tubes cut back for about 50mm A little silicone oil is sprayed on both the copper joining tubes and the insides of the manifold tubes The joining tubes are inserted and the O clips put on and crimped using the pliers supplied 10 Manifolds copper manifolds are used...

Page 24: ...es and the tubes are connected to the manifolds using a silicone lubricant and crimp clips as detailed above 11 Pressure testing the system must be pressure tested with air to 2 0 bar At this pressure any incorrectly made joints should leak or blow off The system should be left under pressure during the installation of the slates so that any absorber damage will immediately become evident Note air...

Page 25: ...ir movement and windblown moisture This strip is fitted to the battens as glazing commences starting with the first batten 15 Link channels a first row of link channels is installed on the first batten at the interval of the slate width The link channels must be fairly central under the gaps between the slates so as to drain the water between the slates efficiently 16 Glass slates the glass solar ...

Page 26: ...2 Slating a patch a patch of Nu lok solar slates may be installed surrounded by compatible Nu lok natural 300 x 400 or ceramic 400 x 400 slates Due to the unique nature of the Nu lok system it is possible to achieve a straight vertical join between the different materials as the link channels make the joins weatherproof Use verge slates 600x400mm to obtain the straight line with the glass slates a...

Page 27: ...olve some form of lead flashing When estimating materials using the website roof calculator treat this strip area as a whole roof Specifications Slate system Nu lok standard Nu lok narrow Material 4mm float glass toughened to BS 6206 Standard slate size 400mm x 400mm 600 x 300mm Headlap fixed 90mm 90mm Laying gauge fixed 308 2mm 208 2mm Coverage 8 09 m2 8 00 m2 Loading 17kg m2 25kg m2 with absorbe...

Page 28: ...absorber supply pipe or manifolds The expansion tank is sized to the capacity of the system the Roof Calculator spreadsheet may be used to calculate the tank size required exactly however it is usually approximately as follows The tank operates at ambient pressure and the lid of the tank is vented to the air The solar circuit flows through the tank venting any air in the system as it passes Roof a...

Page 29: ...urn pipework It must be installed as per the manufacturer s instructions which almost always means with the rotor axis horizontal and the electrical connection box at the top Munsen ring pipe clips are supplied to aid mounting the pump if necessary The pump electrical supply is taken from the controller The pump should generally be set to maximum speed One standard pump is sufficient to supply 30m...

Page 30: ...aks will be apparent when the system is filled with water as leaks towards the top of the roof and in the outlet tube will draw in air and so may go unrecognised while still affecting system performance Note air will diffuse through the silicone absorber so the pressure will decrease over time e g overnight the it may drop from 1 5 to 1 0 bar 9 Filling and commissioning the expansion tank water su...

Page 31: ...reeze damage so generally just water is used in the system However if the solar flow and return pipes are of a type that may be damaged by freezing e g copper and they are used outside the thermal envelope of the building e g in a cold loftspace then antifreeze should be used In such cases we recommend the propylene glycol type of antifreeze which should be used at a concentration of around 30 gly...

Page 32: ... coil cylinder is fitted to replace the existing single coil one with the solar collector heating the whole cylinder from the bottom and the boiler topping up the temperature in the upper section when required 1 Twin coil cylinder 200 300 litres capacity 2 Solar pump circulates water from tank 3 Solar roof heats water 4 Cylinder coil heats cylinder from bottom 5 Boiler coil tops up if necessary 6 ...

Page 33: ... new cylinder is installed with the solar roof indirectly heating the new cylinder and another heat source indirectly heating the existing cylinder The cold feed is to the solar preheat cylinder and hot water is taken from the second cylinder A three way valve is used to select water from the solar cylinder or the existing cylinder controlled by a cylinder stat set to the lowest acceptable hot wat...

Page 34: ...g circuit Underfloor heating is the delivery method of choice as it can operate effectively in some cases with supply temperatures down to 25o C With this method of ustilising solar heating it should be noted that the only heat storage available is where the underfloor heating is installed in a concrete floor slab or screed with a reasonable thermal mass A hot water cylinder is also required insta...

Page 35: ...r or other heating requirement then it is possible to pass pool water directly through the roof subject to using a suitable pump and stainless steel absorber manifolds Plumbing Installation thermal stores Solar stores do the same job as a hot water cylinder but they are generally larger ranging upwards of 300 litres The major difference is that the body of water in the store is heating system wate...

Page 36: ...bly sized mixing valve is used on the hot water output The mixing valve increases the system efficiency as it means a the store can hold more heat without the risk of scalding and b water can be distributed at a lower temperature so reducing heat losses Lower coil this is generally used for the solar input The heat exchangers are bolted into the stores with 20x M10 bolts When installing a coil int...

Page 37: ...or circuit needs its own pump switched by a room stat and timeswitch Underfloor heating Option 1 dedicated supply from thermal store supply from mid point on store return to lower 1 port This is the most efficient option especially when using solar heat Option 2 connect the UFH manifold s across the radiator supply circuit With this method the solar cannot input so much heat to the UFH Hot water f...

Page 38: ...nge coils to order Plumbing Installation retrofit cylinder coils The kit contains a screw in header and 4m or 6m of DN12 flexible stainless steel pipe with fittings Installation When fitting the pipe is first formed into a coil of the required size and shape to fit the cylinder This coil must be small enough in diameter to clear any existing coil if present Note the narrow bottom loop to enable in...

Page 39: ...ntated roofs are installed then each must have its own pump individually controlled by an upgraded controller Each roof must also have a check valve located between the hot roof outlet and the cylinder heat exchanger Electrical Installation See the system diagram on page 25 for the basic electrical layout Solar Controllers Deltasol A and AX controls 1 roof and 1 store no display One relay output D...

Page 40: ...the required location It is wired to relay R2 on BS Plus controllers and R4 on higher spec controllers Note any heat input device e g cylinder coil pool heat exchanger flat plate heat exchanger etc is termed a store in relation to controller wiring and system layouts See the controller manuals for specific system layouts and connections On standard mid position valves with five wires the controlle...

Page 41: ...lay coil should be connected to the solar pump relay R1 on the controller In addition where the controller varies the pump speed BS4 and above then the minimum pump speed on the controller must be set at 100 Failure to set the minimum pump speed may result in a buzzing and malfunctioning relay Where there are two roof pumps controlled separately then two relays must be used with the contacts in se...

Page 42: ...Breakages glass roof slates are very robust being stronger than natural slates They are edge sensitive however and a lucky strike by a large stone or similar hard object could break one When broken they disintegrate into small fragments like automobile glass Removal replacement Solar Slates if broken clean out the remaining fragments and bend the slate clip down If intact bend the clip down and ea...

Page 43: ...circulation Pump if the pump is hot but the pipes some distance from it are not then either the pump may have failed or there may be a system airlock First remove the screw from the end of the pump and check restart rotation If this is operating the fault is probably an airlock Motorised valves check these operate by using the controller manual mode to force them on off Integrity of roof any probl...

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