SolarUK: Frequent Questions and Answers

Which is better - solar vacuum tubes or flat plate solar panels?

Our Answer

There has been a great deal of research on this matter over the years but it largely comes down to whether it has been commissioned by vacuum tube or flat plate manufacturers.

Going by our experience and feedback from a number of installations. flat plates, where they are optimally positioned, will generate marginally more heat in mid summer than vacuum tubes. But this tails off significantly in the autumn and winter months. Vacuum tubes work far better in the colder months, easily outperforming flat plate panels. So, for a year-round solar energy input, vacuum is best.

However we do recommend looking carefully at the construction of solar vacuum tubes. They can be prone to cracking at the copper / glass joint, a problem on almost all vacuum tube installations. As soon as the vacuum is gone, the effectiveness declines significantly.

SolarUK's vacuum tube system does not have this glass copper bond and is not at risk of loss of vacuum. Thus we are able to provide a 25 year warranty on our systems against the loss of vacuum.

More information can be found here: Independent comparison of heating systems