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Dear Members,

I want to share my experiences in buying a solar water heater.

These days it is mandatory to install a solar water heater to get additional power sanctioned from KEB.

There are many models available in the market. Tata BP and Solarizer are supposed to be top end heaters. Heaters are available from 100 litres per day upwards. Cost variations are high. Branded 150 LPD heater costs about 29000 + 4% Vat, minus 10% discount. Lower end models of same capacity are available for 20000, including VAT. Call Just dial (08028888888) and you will receive message regarding the makes and contact numbers.

Specifications

Inner Tank: Shall be made with 1mm SS 304 sheet. Shall have anode for corrosion protection. Outer tank sheet shall be SS with mirror finish. Insulation between inner and outer tanks shall be of PUF. (Poly Urethane Foam). Connecting tubes between collector and tank shall be hydraulically tested tubes. Rubber tubes are OK but durability is less. Cost difference between these two varieties of tubes is about 500 rupees, the hydraulic ones costing higher.

Collector: Normally 9 fins for 100 L and 12 fins for 150L. Complete with copper construction. Located in Aluminium box. Side insulation: PUF, back insulation: Glass wool OR Rock wool. Insulation thickness shall be 50mm. Ultrasonic welding. MS angle stand, painted with weatherproof paint. GI or SS hot water and cold water connections. 2KW water heating electrical coil is provided without any additional cost. Front galss shall be 4 mm thick and shall be toughened one.

One-year warranty. Bargain for 2 years warranty if possible. They provide one-year warranty on warranty card and additional 1-year warranty on letterhead. Quarterly service free during warranty period.

KEB gives 40Rupees deduction from power bill every month if solar water heater is installed. (Previously I believe that they were giving 50paise rebate per unit.) For this purpose the heater supplier provides a certificate of installation.

Glass tube heaters are available for lesser cost but durability is not proved.

New variation is that one company by name I –Hot installs heaters on paying a refundable security deposit of an amount between 5000- to 8000. Installation charges are levied. They fix a water meter and measure consumption every month and charge a fixed amount per litre of consumption. You can google I-hot and find further info.

These are my experiences only. Please correct me if better specifications are available. I am sure this info will be useful to some extent to members.

Regards.

Bhaskar

Great Bhaskar. I am looking forward to more information on FPC model of heaters for 200L.

Which brand & capacity did you buy? Pl. furnish details.

Thx.
I purchased Solarizer 125 LPD heater. It did cost me 22800. I had bargained very hard. The dealer commissions are very high , to the tune of 2500 per piece. Hence bargain hard to get a reasonable price. It is not necessary that you buy Solarizer or any other top end model. You can buy lower end models like Technomax or Chandan etc. However while doing so it would be advisable to confirm the specs and pay a visit to their works if possible.
Regards

Bhaskar

I wanted to know your opinion on these brands:

Anu Solar - 200 Lts FPC model (coated outer body) - 31,500 + 4% VAT (may be they would give soem discounts, havent checked) - 3 to 4 days delivery time
Nuetech - 200 Lts FPC model (all steel) - 30,300 + 4% VAT (best price) - 1 week delivery (more like manufactured after ordering)
Solariser - 200 Lts FPC model (all steel) - 33,000 + 4% VAT (best price) - Next day delivery

Now, which is better? All are ISI certified & have the same or similar description of the welding, tanks,insulation etc. But from what I have been preached, Anu solar uses lower quality material compared to Solariser (like, thinner sheets, etc). From the looks, Solariser looks more sturdy than the Anul Solar model.

If it is in stock for ready delivery, then I would assume that the quality is consistent. If made to order (like in first 2 cases), I am not sure fi they would compromise on quality based on the order price. This is one reason why I tend towards Solariser.

What do you people recommend? AND Do you have any contacts who can give better prices than these for Solariser?
A quick response would be very helpful.

Always look for key technical information from the dealers rather than the features of the solar water heating systems. Usually comman people doesn't ask for technical details, as the awareness about this system is very very less in india. some of the points you need to consider while going for the Solar Water heaters are..

1) What is the kind of insulation used in the storage tank ? whether it is Glass wool or PUF(Poly Urethane Foam - nowa days it is commonly used in all the descent Quality Solar Water Heaters.) and what is the thickness of the PUF used in the system.? It would be best if the thickness of the PUF is 4 inches and above. Also if they can provide Vinyl based external cover for the Tank, it would be double good in order to maintain the Water temperature in variable environmental conditions for longer duration.

2) Tank is made of Stainless steel or Copper or Plastic(sintex makes Plastic based Storage tank for their Solar Water heater Systems.)

3) Quality of the PUF Insulation used in the system. This is generally called as R-Value. It starts from R4.0 to R24. Generally it should be as much as possible towards the higher side. In western countries it starts from R11 and above. But in india and china, it starts from R4.0 onwards. usually very very few Indian companies makes the solar water heaters indigeneously. Rest all just imports the cheaper Chinese materials in Bulk quantities and assemble here with their own brand name. hence Usually no Manufacturer in india gives this rating to the end customers. But in western countries this is mandatory.

4) Tank resistance to the water. if you are living in a area which is having Hard Water or semi-hard water, then you need to be extremely careful in selecting the Tank material and also needs regular maintainance of the Tank and the heating Fins atleast once in 4-6 months with Acid based solution in order to get rid of the Scaling of the same.

5) the cheaper version made with Borosilicate Tubes with Copper Coating(Glass tubes) are vulnerable to stone Throwing or heavy Breezings also. It has lesser life and also water leakage is inevitabel from the contacts where the Glass tubes connects directly with the Storage tanks, since it is covered with a plastic based Washers which is exposed to the external ambience and it needs to be replaced at regular intervals like once is 1-2 years.

6) You must also remember in Bangalore weather condition, you will not be able to get hot water from Mid of October to Mid of january due to soft weather condition.

7) One more think you must remember is the installation location of the system. The distance from the location to the usage area must be as least as possible. Preferably below 10 ft. Else you will receive atleast 10-20 ltrs of normal/cold water for every usage(Except in Summer day time) which gets wasted as you don't use it or recycle it. This cold water, is collected in the pipes between the Solar Water Tank to the Tap at your usage Area. Once you clear this cold water, then only you will the actual hot water from the tank.

8) Generally Dealers say, you can avail soft Loan of interest ranging from 2-5% per annum from the Public sector Banks. But in reality Dealers/Manufacturers doesn't the arrange this. Moreover it not profitable for banks with this soft interest loans. Hence by and large they don't give loans to Solar water heaters. Also it is given only for those who are purchasing this system for the Own House. If you are staying in a rented/leased/Mortgaged House, then you are not eligible. You can get the loan only if you have a very good rapport with the the Branch manager or if you are taking a Home loan, you can informally club this amount with the home loan amount.

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I think its really a good technology, because it saves our money as well as electricity. From this system we get Hot water throughout the year.

I was told that the newer ETC (evacuated tube collector) systems do not depend on sunlight (visible?) but infra-red radiation from the sun which can penetrate clouds, dust etc. & hence the hot water availability is year round.

In fact, we were in Kodaikanal in Apr & the weather was cold/raining but the hot water from the hotel SWH was pretty good.

Does any one have any experience with Selco SWH & Solar panels? http://www.selco-india.com/index.html Selco was started as a social enterprise focusing on rural lighting by an MIT grad Harish Hande, FYI

I need 200 ltr FPC Solar heater. I shortlisted Tata Zing , Racold Omega and Solarizer (Value/Ultra).
Water in my township is borewell and drinkable. Hardness is 360 (As measured by Tata solar guy) Is their any other best way/Lab to check water quality?
Do i need Heat Exchanger/Softner if hardness is 360?