RIOMAY™ THE ECOTUBE SOLAR PANEL (LIES FLAT)

RIOMAY™ THE ECOTUBE SOLAR PANEL
The sun’s energy is free. Use it to heat water and save you money...and help future generations

Easy Pools now have the exclusive rights for suppling and installing in Spain the Riomay™ Ecotube Solar Panel.

Whether you are curious about renewable energy or committed to a sustainable solution to water heating, Riomay™ is one of the UK’s leading suppliers and installers of water heating solar panels, are increasingly becoming the choice for householders, communities and businesses, and Easy Pools are now dedicated to supplying and installing here in Spain the Riomay™ Solar Panel.

Now recognised as the cost-effective way to reduce CO2 emissions, the Ecotube, is supported by the UK Government.

YOUR HOME
Whether you would like to convert your existing system or you are building from scratch, Easy Pools can advise on both vented and open systems for domestic use or for a

garden swimming pool. As a rough guide, an average household with 4 people would need one Ecotube solar panel to meet an average of 70% of its needs throughout the year. In winter, because there is less sun, this may drop to 30% whilst in summer it could be 100%.

Very large households may benefit from two panels.

We use our own fully trained installers throughout the Costa del Sol, and offer full after-sales care and clear information. We have experience of combining water and under-floor room heating to find the most efficient solution for larger panel systems and we are happy to discuss any scale of project with you.
The benefits:

· completely reliable
· virtually maintenance-free
· can have a life of over 30 years
· versatility - you can fix the Ecotube system to the wall or at any angle on the roof

We can supply and install the whole system, including pumps, vents, tank and pipework, giving you the reassurance of our expertise. On the other hand, if you are confident and technically-minded we can simply send you the panel

SWIMMING POOLS
We can offer you a reliable alternative to unfeasible water heating bills - and with the present trend towards rising prices an Ecotube system can only be a good investment.

A comfortable swim throughout the summer can be achieved with solar heating. There is virtually no need to use any other source of heating from April through to September.

A UK client spent over £1500 per summer heating his pool. Now he is saving nearly all that - and helping the environment.

COMMERCIAL
The Ecotube is ideally suited to housing association developments, multi-occupation office blocks and public leisure facilities.

Now's the time for businesses, small and large, to 'go solar'.

· The high quality Ecotube easily satisfies the carbon-reducing criteria set by new planning regulations, as demonstrated by our larger projects. Under the 'Merton ruling' 10% of the calculated energy the building uses annually must be met by sustainable sources. Solar thermal systems represent the most cost effective solution.
· Our leading experience and expertise in this field means that we can communicate effectively with building professionals, architects and M & E consultants.

...and don't forget...

· the versatility of the system means it can be hidden on a flat roof or placed vertically on a wall
· running costs are low and you can practically forget about maintenance
· monitoring systems can be set up to document the performance of the panels - a great public relations and educational bonus
· by showing your commitment to the environment you are raising your company’s green credentials – and shrinking its carbon footprint!

NB If you run an architectural practice or mechanical & engineering consultancy we are happy to present a CPD to you.

PUBLIC SECTOR
The Riomay Ecotube is ideal for large public sector projects. Our experience includes organisations such as prisons, hospitals, schools and leisure centres, housing association developments and, more recently, the fire service.

· medium-term cost benefits
· eco homes excellence achievable with one panel in the context of energy efficiency
· easily satisfies the new building regulations of 10% energy from renewable sources

FOR COMMUNITIES

· educational resource on-tap – display monitor option
· helping to develop ‘greener’ communities.

THE RIOMAY ECOTUBE
The Riomay Ecotube forms part of a simple, yet highly efficient energy transfer system that can heat water throughout the year. Whether your system is domestic, commercial, small or large, the principle is the same.

HOW IT WORKS
Inside each Ecotube is an absorber plate that gathers the sun’s energy and turns it into heat. The absorber plate is bonded to a copper pipe, and fluid passed through the pipe collects the heat for transfer to a hot water system.

The whole assembly is sealed within a glass tube containing a high vacuum, and this virtually eliminates heat losses by convection or conduction. This type of water heating system is much more efficient than a flat plate collector, and much more durable

PRODUCING HOT WATER
The heat transfer fluid passing through each panel is a solution of water and non-toxic antifreeze. This fluid absorbs heat from the Ecotube array and is pumped to a heat exchanger (coil) in the hot water tank. The heat then passes into the water, and the fluid is pumped back to the solar panel. The pump is controlled by an electronic device that detects the temperature difference between the solar panel and the hot water tank. When the temperature in the panel is lower than the temperature in the tank, the system remains on standby.

But when the sun raises the temperature in the panel to 4°C above the temperature in the tank, the temperature controller switches on the pump.

The system prevents energy losses at night and during the darkest days of winter, and the heat transfer fluid eliminates any risk of freezing

HIGH PERFORMING SYSTEM
Ecotube performance exceeds that of competing evacuated tube systems, thanks to:

· versatility - the Ecotube can go flat on roofs and walls, and the absorber plate is custom-angled in the factory to give you guaranteed maximum efficiency for the life of the system
· high transmittance glass, which is virtually transparent to solar energy
· a super-efficient selective coating on the absorber plate, which maximises the solar energy absorbed and minimises the heat energy lost by radiation
· a uniquely durable glass-to-metal seal at the end of each tube, to maintain the high vacuum that prevents energy losses by convection and conduction
· glass and metal components that expand and contract at the same rate in response to temperature changes, resulting in a reliable system built to last for more than 30 years
· an indirect heat-exchanger that eliminates problems caused by the build-up of limescale, and ensures that the panel cannot freeze in winter

RECENT PROJECTS

The Royal Household, Windsor
The swimming pool at Windsor Castle has been heated by Riomay Suntubes for the last 7 years. For this project the panels were installed on an A-frame to directly replace a previous flat plate system which had deteriorated after only 7 years. The Riomay Suntubes still look as good as new and have another 25-30 years' expected life in them.

The University of Brighton Meade Sports Centre
60 DP6-2800 panels is the largest DP6 installation in Europe. These panels are on The University of Brighton Meade Sports Centre. They are expected to make a major contribution to heating a 400,000 litre pool. The equipment is monitored and is providing research information for the post graduated students in the University's Department of the Built Environment.

Severn Leisure Centre, Highley, Shropshire
60 of the latest MP6-3000 suntubes cover over 20,000 sq.ft on what is probably the world's largest pergola. This project was installed in 2005, and The Severn Centre has recently won a sustainability award from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. A special mention of the Riomay Suntube was made in the accolade. The system delivers almost 200 kW at peak on a typical June day

The London Borough of Islington invited Riomay to install Suntubes vertically on the wall on one of its housing developments. Typically the system is providing each householder with 80% of its hot water requirements over a year.

HM Prison Cardiff
30 Riomay Suntubes provide most of the annual hot water for the prison laundry. The calorifier (hot water tank) is 5,000 litres in size, and the laundry cleans the clothes for South Wales's 2,500 prisoners across 3 or 4 prisons.

Eco-developer Toby Douch has built some very high specification eco-homes which have achieved an ECO Homes 'excellence' rating. This is thanks not only to high quality design but the inclusion of solar water heating from Riomay. The building is monitored constantly and its utility consumables are very low .

Did you know?

- The Riomay Ecotube works when the sun's shining, winter or summer. If you can see shadows cast by the sun, your panel will be generating energy.
- You can install the Riomay Ecotube system flat on a pergola. This gives some welcome shade as well as hot water for the pool. Here is the Severn Leisure Centre in Shropshire - the biggest in Europe - and a small garden pergola in Sussex.

- Riomay Ecotubes can be installed flat on the roof or vertically on the wall. The fin inside is individually set to the correct angle for your project during the manufacturing process.