S O L A R H O T W A T E R I N S T A L A L T I O N G U I D E
EcoSolar Energy Conscious Design Limited
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Thank you
Thank you for choosing an EcoSolar hot water system. You may look forward to many years of
monetary savings as well as knowing that you are helping provide a sustainable future for generations
to come.
Please ensure you read these instructions carefully and complete the installation to these guidelines,
the New Zealand Building Code, AS/NZS3500 and The Code of Practice (COP) for Manufacture
and Installation of Solar Water Heating Systems in New Zealand, this COP is available for download
from www.solarindustries.org.nz.
Where there is a conflicting requirement, either within this or, between documents, suitable
professional guidance should be sought.
This guide is not intended to be exhaustive and there are many types of system and variations there
of, that are not intended to be covered here. For instance, there are systems that incorporate a
second hot water cylinder acting as a preheater and it is possible to incorporate a wetback system for
heating water in winter and the solar system for heating water in summer.
Prior to proceeding with the installation the installer should discuss the requirements with the end
user to ensure an appropriate system is installed. The EcoSolar check sheets should be completed,
guidance sought and complied with where required, and the installer should understand the type of
system most suited to the particular installation.
Selling the benefits of solar water heating
Selling the system and in particular informing the customer what they can expect from the solar
water heating system and selecting the right system for a particular client are key to the success of the
installation. If the system and its benefits are over inflated by the person selling the system to the
customer, then the customer will have unrealistic expectations and is unlikely to be satisfied with the
installation.
A correctly designed, installed and maintained solar water heating system will provide effective
savings on the energy consumption of a household, of around 70% of the electricity consumed for
water heating. As a rule of thumb delivering around 90% of the hot water in Summer, 50 to 75% in
Spring and Autumn and 25 to 40% in Winter.
There are many levels of efficiency being promoted to customers however, the bottom line is that a
correctly designed, installed and operated system will have an annual efficiency in the order of 30 to
40%, this is the percentage of the solar gain that the sun delivers compared to the amount of heat
