Solar PV to heat Thermal Store

[bigjeffuk]

Hello. Ive been considering a solar PV system for my roof and have spent some time researching. Because of the way my grid feed comes in I cannot have a smart meter as such im not able to send power back to the grid. Ive been researching storage alternatives. For my budget, batteries are beyond my budget so ive been looking at a Thermal Store to use the excess power to heat water for bath/showers.

What sort of size solar array would I need to heat say a 100l thermal store? and would I still be generating net power? my house is empty during the working week 9am to 4pm however with my partner and 4 kids theres a demand for power in the evenings/weekends and lots of showers. My electric bill isn't too bad but my gas bill is 3 times the electric so its that im really looking to reduce on the mixer shower and bath run off the combi boiler.

Do these thermal stores just use an immersion to heat the water? if so, is the backup power from mains electricity if needed? Could I also feed power to something else once the store is fully warm. such as say a garden hot tub or is it better to feed back into the grid.

I also have gas central heating but I dont think there is much I could do to use solar for this.

Appreciate any advice.

 

[pollenface]

An electric hot water system set to only run during sunlight hours is effectively a thermal battery, those heat pump systems are highly efficient.

I have 6.6kw of grid tied pv (20x330w), I wouldn't want less than that.

A power limiting grid tied inverter will only make power when you're using it in the house and will never feed back to the grid.

 

[Ralphloren]

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