Solar Water Heater Installation Dubai
Heating water is one of the larger electrical loads in a house, and it is the one where sunlight does the job directly rather than being converted first. That is what makes solar hot water a simpler proposition than it sounds.
We survey the roof, size the system to how much hot water the house actually draws, and install the collectors, the tank, the controller and the backup element as one job.
What we will not do is quote a system from a photograph. The roof decides the layout, and the layout decides whether it works well or merely works.
What the roof survey looks at
Every one of these changes the design, and several of them can rule a roof out. It is a short visit and it is the part worth insisting on from anybody quoting you.
- Which way the roof faces, and how much of it is unshaded through the day
- Shade from a water tank, a parapet, a lift overrun or the next villa
- Whether the structure will carry collectors plus a full tank
- How far the collectors would sit from the tank, and the pipe run between them
- Whether a tank can go above the collectors, which decides the layout
- Where the existing hot water pipework runs and where it can be joined
- Whether there is a suitable electrical supply for a pump and controller
- How the roof is reached for servicing, and whether that is safe
- Waterproofing, and how mountings can be fixed without breaking it
- Community or building rules on anything visible from the street
Thermosiphon or pumped
The first real decision, and the roof usually makes it rather than you. One has no moving parts. The other goes where the first cannot.
Thermosiphon
- The tank sits above the collectors
- Hot water rises on its own, no pump
- No controller, no sensors, no electrical supply needed
- Almost nothing to fail or service
- The tank is visible on the roof
- Needs the structure to carry a full tank up there
The simplest system there is, and where a roof allows it the right default. Fewer parts means fewer of the faults we are called out to on pumped systems.
Pumped
- The tank can sit anywhere, including indoors
- A small pump moves heat down from the collectors
- A controller and sensors decide when it runs
- Nothing bulky on the roof but the panels
- Works where the structure will not take a roof tank
- More parts, so more to go wrong and to service
The flexible option, and necessary on most buildings. The pump, controller and sensors are the parts that need the annual look, and they are why solar repair exists.
Flat plate or evacuated tube
The second decision. Both work here. They fail differently and they are serviced differently, and that is the more useful way to choose between them.
Flat plate collectors
A sealed glazed panel over an absorber. Rugged, low profile and easy to wash down. When one degrades it is the whole panel, not a part of it, but they are slow to degrade and there is nothing in them to lose.
Evacuated tubes
Rows of glass tubes, each a small collector in its own right. They tolerate dust and heat well, and when a tube fails the array keeps working and the tube is replaced on its own. That serviceability is the argument for them.
Either is a reasonable answer. We will tell you which suits the roof you have rather than which we would rather fit.
The parts of the installation that decide how well it performs
The collectors get the attention and the rest of the job is what separates a system that performs from one that merely functions.
- Insulated pipework, properly
- Heat collected on a roof is lost on the way down if the pipe is bare, and roof conditions here destroy cheap insulation in a couple of years. This is the single most common corner cut on a solar install.
- Tank sizing against real draw
- Sized to how much hot water the household uses at once, not to the collector area. An oversized tank never reaches a useful temperature and leaves the backup element covering for it.
- A backup element you can isolate
- Needed for cloudy days and heavy use, and it should be switchable. An element that cannot be turned off will quietly heat the tank before the sun gets a chance, which defeats the system.
- Sensor placement
- The controller is only as good as what the probes tell it. A collector sensor in the wrong place reads a temperature the panels never reach, and the pump then runs on bad information.
- Expansion and pressure relief
- A solar loop gets much hotter than ordinary plumbing and the water in it expands further. Expansion and relief provision is not optional and it has to discharge somewhere safe.
- Mountings that do not break the roof
- Fixed so they carry wind load without compromising the waterproofing. A leak traced back to a solar mounting is an expensive way to find out this was rushed.
How the job runs
- 1
Survey and design
Roof, shade, structure, pipe run and draw. You get a layout and a reason for it rather than a product list.
- 2
Quote the whole system
Collectors, tank, mountings, controller, sensors, pipework, insulation and the electrical work, itemised. Insulation on the line rather than assumed.
- 3
Install and connect
Mountings and collectors up, tank set, loop run and insulated, controller and sensors wired, backup element connected on its own switched supply.
- 4
Commission on a sunny afternoon
Filled, air purged, circulation proved and the controller watched doing the right thing with real temperatures. Not signed off on a cold loop.
After commissioning, the only upkeep is keeping the glass clean and an annual look at the pump, sensors and tank. That is cleaning and maintenance.
The honest version of the arithmetic
We are not going to put a payback figure on this page. It would depend on your roof, how much hot water your household actually uses and what you pay for electricity, and anybody quoting a single number to a stranger is guessing.
What can be said plainly is the shape of it. Water heating is a large and constant electrical load, sunlight here is abundant and reliable, and a solar system displaces that load rather than converting it twice. Those are the reasons the proposition is sound.
What decides whether it works out is whether the installation was done properly and whether the backup element is left running unnecessarily. We have seen more solar systems underperforming because of perished insulation and an element nobody switched off than because of anything to do with the sun.
If you want a number, we will give you one for your roof after the survey, and we will show you how it was arrived at. That is a different thing from a figure in a brochure.
What the installation touches
A solar install is a plumbing job and an electrical one at the same time, which is why it suits a company that does both. Once it is in, solar repair and cleaning are the two pages worth bookmarking, and an ordinary tank is covered by water heater repair, installation and replacement. We also do handyman work, painting, carpentry, tiling, renovation, gypsum partitions, false ceilings and air conditioning. The full list is in one place and an AMC keeps it all on one schedule.
Where we install solar
Villa communities across Dubai, and buildings where the roof is available. If your community is not listed, ask us.
New Dubai
- Dubai Marina
- Jumeirah Lakes Towers
- Palm Jumeirah
- Jumeirah Beach Residence
- Emirates Hills
- The Greens and The Views
- Discovery Gardens
- Dubai Media City
Central Dubai
- Downtown Dubai
- Business Bay
- DIFC
- Al Barsha
- Jumeirah
- Umm Suqeim
- Al Quoz
- Trade Centre
Old Dubai
- Deira
- Bur Dubai
- Al Karama
- Al Nahda
- Mirdif
- Al Qusais
- Oud Metha
- Garhoud
Outer communities
- Arabian Ranches
- Jumeirah Village Circle
- Dubai Silicon Oasis
- Dubai Sports City
- Damac Hills
- Motor City
- Dubai Hills Estate
- International City
Solar installation questions
Will a solar water heater work on my roof?
Usually, and the survey is what settles it. The things that rule a roof out are shade across the middle of the day, a structure that will not carry the load, and a pipe run to the tank so long that the heat is lost on the way. None of those can be judged from a photograph, which is why we look before quoting.
Do I still need an electric element?
Yes, and every properly designed system has one. It covers cloudy days and days when the household draws more hot water than the collectors gathered. The important detail is that it must be switchable, because an element that cannot be turned off will heat the tank before the sun has a chance and the system then saves nothing.
Thermosiphon or pumped, which should I choose?
The roof usually decides. If the tank can sit above the collectors, thermosiphon is the better engineering because there is no pump, no controller and no sensors, and therefore almost nothing to fail. If the structure will not take a tank up there, or you do not want one visible, pumped is the answer and it brings three more parts to look after.
How much will it save me?
We will not put a number on that before seeing your roof, because it depends on your own hot water use and your tariff. What we will do after the survey is show you the figure for your house and how it was worked out. Treat any firm number given before a survey as a sales figure rather than an estimate.
Does the roof need maintenance afterwards?
Very little, but not none. The glass needs washing because dust film cuts output, and the pump, sensors and insulation deserve an annual look. The tank wants the same flush any water heater wants. That is one short visit a year, and skipping it is how a working system ends up running on its backup element.
Will the mountings damage my roof waterproofing?
They should not, and this is worth asking of anybody who quotes. Mountings have to hold against wind load without penetrating the waterproofing in a way that cannot be sealed properly. A leak traced back to a collector foot is both an expensive repair and an avoidable one.
Book a solar roof survey
Tell us the community and roughly how many bathrooms draw hot water in the house. We will arrange a look at the roof before anybody talks about a system.