could any tell me what type off panel is the best tube or flat and how much it should be. I live in N Ireland
My solar thermal installation uses a 30-tube NAVITRON panel. This has an effective area of 2m2 and produces enough hot water in summer for 3 showers and plenty of washing up! I estimate that, in it's first year, it has saved me about ?60 in gas. The panels and prices are shown in the attached link. Mine was fitted by a professional installer for ?2500, including a huge, new cylinder (dual coil) to store the extra hot water. Flat panels are much less efficient than vacuum tube collectors. While flat panels are frequently cheaper, these Navitron panels are such good value that I think buying inferior, flat panels would be a false economy.
I assume you're talking about heating water. Based on what I've seen, the spiral tubes seem to heat the water to a higher temperature than the flat panels, probably because the water has to follow a longer path and has more time to heat. This type of panel will heat the water to a high enough temperature for almost any household application, but you need to be careful about how you set it up. I once saw a pool that had been equipped with that type of heating system, and it produced enough heat to melt one of the PVC pipes. It was a vertical pipe next to the filter, and it had fallen over onto the ground, pinching off the flow of water. This was in Arizona, so it may not get that hot in your area.
The type solar system to be installed your new house depends the shape and dimensions of house.Himin newly launched solar house.
