FAQ

Cooling requires energy. This energy can be supplied in the form of hot water. Infinity Solar applies closed-loop absorption cooling for larger solar thermal installations.

In principle, an environmental permit is not required for a solar thermal system, provided that you observe a number of rules. See the ‘solar panels and solar collectors’ folder of the Dutch government for more information:
https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/brochures/2010/07/20/zonnecollectoren-en-zonnepanelen

A solar panel converts sunlight into electricity and provides electricity.
A solar collector collects heat from the sun and provides heat.

Phase change materials are materials that change from solid to liquid to gaseous and back again under the influence of temperature. An example is water that at 0°C changes from solid to liquid, and at 100°C changes from liquid to gaseous.

Phase change material refers to a material that can be used for the practical storage of thermal energy. The phase change used for energy storage is the change from solid to liquid and vice versa. When the material passes from one phase to another, a great deal of energy is released or absorbed. The temperature at which this change takes place depends on the material.

The water in the system is drained back to the storage tank at the end of the day to eliminate the risk of frost damage.

A flat solar collector plate is a container that is covered with a glass plate. A pipe runs through this container. This pipe contains a liquid. This liquid heats up and flows to the boiler where the heat is stored.

A vacuum tube solar collector is best presented as a glass thermos flask. The sunlight falls through the outer and inner tubes and heats the water. Because of the vacuum between the tubes, the inner tube is very well insulated and the heat loss is minimal.

For this reason, the efficiency of a vacuum tube solar collector is always higher than the efficiency of a flat plate solar collector.