There are systems currently available where electricity from solar PV panels are used to boost hot water producing within a hot water cylinder.
The two devices on the market are iBoost and immerSUN.
These types of systems are not able to be effectively modelled in RdSAP currently, but this scenario has raised concerns from some homeowners that their EPCs are being left with recommendations for solar thermal water heating.
6.10 | Water heated by PV | In some dwellings water may be heated by PV systems which use an additional device that focuses the electricity generated to heating the hot water via the immersion. The device is essentially an automatic power controller that diverts surplus power to a designated load, normally a hot water heater. Where the presence of such device can be evidenced, the assessor can suppress the recommendation for Solar (thermal) Hot water heating. |
Where once of these PV-boost systems exists, please ensure to update your site notes with reasons for suppressing the recommendation.