Solar Heating Panels

Hello Sylvia,
What exactly do you mean by Solar heating panel, if you mean solar panel/s that provide you with hot water for showers etc. then I can send you a lot of information (links) just PM me.
The links will give you enough information to build a system for yourself for about 1000 Euros max.
Cheers

Hi Eshek,
Sorry not have been more specific. We are looking to try to supplement our central heating system by heating the water to the radiators. The water in the radiators is currently heated by electricity which is costing us a fortune. I have read some people saying electricity is cheap here in Bulgaria but we have found the opposite. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

Best wishes Sylvia

Hi,

To heat a whole hose only by solar water panels will be very - very costly. You will need a very big number of panels and a huge area to place them. Of course will depend always of the size of house.
Do you have any study by an engineer of what energy is required for heating the house? (Kw or BTU)

Evangelos

Forgot to ask what kind of insulation are you having.

2.0 square metres of solar panel would be enough to heat 150 litres of water - depending on the solar radiation received. i.e. Sunlight.

I assume that it is required for the winter when there is less and weaker sunlight.

Just something to think about

Hi Evagelos

Thanks for the reply. The reason for posting is that we were wondering if anyone had experience of solar heating and could perhaps recommend a company who would design supply and install a system that would help alleviate some of our electric costs in the winter.
Our costs come from the fact that when we had the house built our builder decided we needed an 8 bed/bathroomed house and a loft apartment instead of the 5 bedroomed house we had planned. We had no choice but to go along with his plan or the house would not have been completed. That was 10 years ago and we have got over it and have to admit its a beautiful house, however,as we our now retired and have to cut back on spending we were considering our options. We do love Bulgaria and if at anytime we sell our house we would definatey have a much smaller house built in Bulgaria but this time we would have more control. 
Regards Sylvia

Hi again,

Thanks for you advice we will be doing further research.

Regards Sylvia

Hi Sylvia,

I believe the best and cheapest way to heat such a house in Bulgaria is a heating using firewood.
You need to bring in a good company to see what you have and change the electric boiler into a firewood one.
I can not recommend anyone because am not in Bulgaria (yet).
Good luck,

Evangelos

Google Kachelofen/Masonry stove

These are wood fires built in such a way to distribute and store heat in masonry and retain it for hours/days. They can also supply hot water for showers etc.

Have a look at vikiwat.com for an idea of prices - they are near Plovdiv but do countrywide delivery.   Very helpful at making sure you get what is right for you, even if they are more expensive  options they could sell you

I love experimenting! Last year, I built a solar water heater from 32 metres of black hose  and was able to heat a 45-gallon barrel  of water  to 160 deg F in a three hours using a small 12-volt pump for circulation, driven by a small solar panel! My next will be a manure pile, which is quite capable of heating water to 120/140 F or higher as it nears self-combustion and it turns into compost,  Leaching off the heat will control the temp within the pile and prevent the good bacteria dying with heat! Pipes within the pile can be fed through a heat exchanger  in  water which in turn will be part of my central heating system. It is all about thinking outside the box my dear friends! Every degree in free heat you can gain  as a gift from Mother Earth, saves you paying mankind for that which he stole from Mother Earth to create the same effect!  I intend building a Humanure methane generator fed by a Sani-Flo from my toilet and sink to generate gas to run my boiler when I get there! This isn't technology this is common sense, off the grid low maintenance,  free energy once constructed!  :-)

"Hi Sylvia,

I believe the best and cheapest way to heat such a house in Bulgaria is a heating using firewood.
You need to bring in a good company to see what you have and change the electric boiler into a firewood one.
I can not recommend anyone because am not in Bulgaria (yet).
Good luck,

Evangelos"

This is true...

You can not deliver back electricity from solar panels to the net so far as i know. Waiting until powerwal become more cheap. I gone install a solar boiler for warm water soon. This cost around 1500 euro,s
Kind regards,
Marcel van Birgelen-Mehmed

Hi, thanks so much for your reply. We have found a solution to the big bills in the winter.
We put anti freeze in the central heating system, installed a thermostat which we set at a low temperature just to keep the water in the system flowing. This has worked well when we are not in the country and kept the bills low. So, we have put the solar panel idea on hold until such time as it becomes financially viable.
Many thanks to all who made suggestion Sylvia

Bruce,  Please share how you built the hose heater. I would like one. I am into clean energy
Frankie

Had lots of fun reading all this. And still laughing ...

You people are talking about different things and not asking about the real problem.

And up to my understanding the real problem is - cold winter, when all rooms have to heated to prevent freezing  of the pipes/radiators.

No solar panel can help you when in Bulgaria temperatures drop to -20 degs Celsius!!!  These things just do not work then. You can heat very effectively water in Spring, Summer and Autumn, but in Winter - not this way.

So you have the following options:

1. Install a thermal pump:
pros:  low heating/cooling costs
cons: high initial investment

2. convert an airconditioner to thermal pump heater;
pros: low initial costs, low heating costs;
cons: might be difficult to find a company doing this in your area.

3. install a pellet burner to heat the water for your radiators;

4. install a propane-butane heater for the water in your radiators;

5. modify your central heating in a way, that would allow you to drain parts of the system and in this way make it easier to heat/control freezing.

And couple of other options too ... consult a heating engineer first.