Looking to install a solar heater!

[NiwRoC]

Me and the wife went to the home show here in Tucson this past weekend, looking at Solar Heating vendor. Most vendors only have a two or five year warranty. My plan is to get three estimates but what I've researched Heilocol seems to be a good company.

Please review and give advice on what we should be looking for to get the most out of a system. Currently they are setting it up for a 1 to 1 ratio. Roughly 400 sq feet to cover. We have enough of a foot print on our two story home for this coverage. We have great southern exposure. Should we upgrade to the digital control panel?

Had HeliocolWest come out to give an estimate. One of the strong selling points on this system is a 12 year parts and labor on the Heliocol Collectors, There is a two year warranty on the solar controllers, pipes, valves.

Here is our quote and is this decent estimate?

7 HC50's (2x12.5 solar Panels)
HM4000 Auto Control Panel w/ sensors and valving (Heliomatic)
2" schedule 40 PVE plumbing lines - trenched / painted
Shut-off, drain, check & V.R. Valves
Full Installation

Price Quote: $5,125
Homeshow Discount: -$500 (priced increased to show a savings??)
$4,625
Cash Discount: $300
Final Price $4,325

Addl upgrades if wanted:
HC40's - Installed $400 each
Suntouch Digital Control $300 (Pentair)

 

[jblizzle]

I paid to have Heliocol installed at my previous house and did a DIY with some of their panels I found on Ebay at my current house.
That price seems inline with what I would expect. My DIY (non-warranty) install for 500sqft ran me about $1200 total. (I paid $50 per HC50 panel ... but then had to buy the mounting hardware that I did not realize was missing)

I am surprised that the upgrades are that much. I think you can get the Suntouch online which includes a 3-way valve AND the actuator for less than $400. That does have some nice features like being able to calibrate the temp sensors and to run in cooling mode that the Heliomatic and even my Hayward full automation do not have.

Actually as I recall, at my previous house, I bought the electronics myself and had them install it. You may be able to save yourself a little money if you are able to buy some of the parts yourself, although you may run into warranty issues.

Also realize that a cover will still make a large difference in how warm you can get your pool in the spring and fall ... the evaporation rate is so high here it really cools off quickly. In the summer you will not likely be needing to run the solar at all.

 

[Isaac-1]

Heliocool does seem to make a good product, and price is in the right ballpark for what one would expect. I will say though to be careful about using warranty length as a key for purchasing decisions. At some point it seems much of the time you will be paying a premium for a longer warranty and not be getting a better product, also check the fine print, many include clauses about prorated after a certain period, paying for service call "labor", or paying for shipping on replacement panels. In the case of a single failed panel these charges can add up to around the price of single panel bought as part of a system.

Ike

p.s. I think the SunTouch is a nice upgrade, but not sure if it is worth the upgrade price they listed.