• poVoqM
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    fedilink
    1210 months ago

    They are still cool. I just recently installed one :)

    The vacuum tube ones are IMHO the best, but there are also ones that circulate a heat exchange fluid in panels for direct connection to a heat-pump. The advantage of the latter is that you get good efficiency out of them in the winter, but it also means that the heat-pump has to run all the time. My vacuum tubes work fine most of the year with only a small circulation pump running (and smaller systems with a thermo-siphon don’t even need that).

    • @SpaghettiYeti
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      29 months ago

      What did you end up spending for it? Are you using it paired with an existing hot water heater?

      • poVoqM
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        fedilink
        19 months ago

        It’s combined with a stand alone air-to-water heat-pump that shares a hot water storage container with the solar thermal panels. Prices are hard to compare and I actually got a small government subsidy for it as well, but the solar thermal vacuum tubes alone should be less than $500 for a typical family home.