Solar Ark Hot Water Review
Before you buy a solar hot water system there are many things for you to consider. They are the efficiency, the location of the hot water storage tank and collectors, the availability of an energy source for boosting, the likely repair costs, the availability of spare parts and quality. These all must be weighed up against your budget.
There are two categories we have chosen for evacuated tube solar hot water systems. These are the premium brands and the budget brands. We have recommended Apricus as the best premium evacuated tube system. For years we have been looking for a good budget brand that we would be happy to recommend. We believe we have found some in the SolarArk evacuated tube solar hot water system range.
SolarArk has one of the largest ranges suitable to Canberra. Although they are basic, they will perform reasonably well. They are quite efficient for budget systems and get a high average number of STCs. This means the solar hot water rebate can be generous, helping to further reduce the price.
They can be as much as 25% cheaper than the premium brand to have supplied and installed. Repairs take longer than they would on the premium system but are still relatively easy. Spare parts to suite SolarArk hot water systems are easily sourced and we carry an ample supply of them
There are many things that don’t come standard on the SolarArk solar hot water systems as they do on the Apricus system. For example, they don’t come standard with the pitched roof frame, scald protection, flow meter and throttling valve and non return valve. They also come with two sensors instead of three, the controller is not programmable and does not come with a cover. They both come standard with quality DZR Grundfos pumps.
The solar hot water tank warranty is only 7 years on the budget system, whereas it is 10 years on the premium Apricus systems. The collector warranty is the same at 15 years for both. Both systems need to be serviced once every 5 years. The cost of servicing is the same for both systems.
SolarArk stainless steel tanks are available for installation in Canberra. However, the SolarArk vitreous enamel tanks are considerably cheaper and likely to last just as long.
The most common models installed in Canberra are;
- SolarArk SA-M-20-VE250
- SolarArk SA-M-30-VE250
- SolarArk SA-M-30-VE315
- SolarArk SA-M-40-VE400
- SolarArk SA-M-40-VE630
- SolarArk SA-M-20-SS250
- SolarArk SA-M-30-SS-315
- SolarArk SA-M-30-SS400
- SolarArk SA-M-40-SS630
The 4 other solar hot water categories are
