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Introducing Greenskies Solar-Lux – Solar Evacuated Tube Collectors from Worcester, Bosch Group

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Worcester, Bosch Group has extended its market leading collection of Greenskies solar thermal panels and accessories with the launch of new solar evacuated tube collectors for 2011 – the Greenskies Solar-Lux range.

In brief, the Greenskies Solar-Lux collection has been designed to offer installers a Greenskies solar thermal panel for every application, with the added benefit of even greater efficiencies to be gained from the evacuated tube design of the new collectors.

Whilst Worcester's existing flat plate solar collectors are extremely efficient, evacuated tube (or vacuum tube) collectors are even more so due to the cylindrical shape of the tubes that are housed in each panel.

The cylindrical pipes used in construction of the panels are well suited to absorbing energy from the sun, as a much greater surface area of each pipe is exposed to any available light. This makes the collectors particularly suitable for maximising solar gain, even at low light intensities, such as during the winter months when the sun is at its weakest.

Available in two collector sizes – 6 (1,43m2) or 12 (2,82m2) tube variants – Worcester's Greenskies Solar-Lux solar collectors have a lightweight aluminium frame with mounting solutions available for on-roof, flat roof and faÇade installations. Fast and flexible installation was an important consideration of the product design, and installers should find the new panels extremely easy to work with as a result of their construction.

For durability and to ensure a long life span, each panel features robust, 'double glass' vacuum filled tubes, which are designed to prevent leaking of single tubes and loss of vacuum. The panels are also Solar Keymark certified and have been tested to withstand hail storms according to EN129785.

Internally, Worcester's Greenskies Solar-Lux solar system is glycol based and works on the principles of 'direct flow' (U shaped tube) technology.

The new Greenskies Solar-Lux solar evacuated tube collectors also feature Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) mirror technology for increased thermal performance.

This special mirror sits behind the tubes within the solar panels to enhance the collection of solar energy, meaning direct and diffused radiation is led directly to the absorber – even when collectors are installed at adverse or acute angles.

Martyn Bridges, director of marketing and technical support for Worcester, said: “Since we first introduced the Greenskies range of solar panels in 2005 sales have increased steadily, as media interest in the environment and the Government's focus on combating climate change – with initiatives like the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) – have helped raise wider awareness of renewables.

“Installers are driving demand for solar products too, and we know many see the future potential of this type of technology from the high levels of attendance on our solar thermal training courses. Therefore, with both the market conditions and installers in mind, we have chosen to extend our Greenskies solar thermal range at this particular time to provide a greater choice of panels to suit an even wider variety of customer and site requirements”.

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