Flat Plate Collectors have been used since the early 1900's, are time-tested, and currently dominate the market. They consist of an absorber plate/copper tubing risers, are very well insulated with sheet of glazed glass, and nominal sizes are 3ft x 8ft, 4ft x 8ft - 10ft or 12ft. They weight up to 150lbs each. Click here to see an example. Warranty Info: 10yrs on Collector & Manifold.
Evacuated Tube Collectors were introduced in the 1970's. The tubes normally come in a groups of 10, 20, or 30 glass absorber tubes. Each glass tube is in a vaccuum and each tube has an absorber plate/heat pipe inside. The header absorbs the heat from the tubes. Evacuated tubes are much more efficient in colder climates than the flat plates. Click here to see an example. Warranty Info: 15yrs on Manifold, 10yrs on Evacuated Tubes.
Other Warranty Info: 2yrs on pumps/controllers, 6yrs solar storage tank and internal heat exchanger Focus on Energy offers cash-back rewards and grants.
