New systems - Costs

For the installation of a typical solar thermal system (2 panels, 200 litre vented cylinder) we charge around £1000 in labour, which is the "going rate" in the solar industry. The rest the cost is determined by the hardware, which we purchase with consideration.

Consideration 1 - Reliability and maintainability
A solar thermal system should not be a "throw-away" product, like so many of our consumer goods are today. How many cheap-import products do you have in your household of which you can say "I trust this item to serve me at least 20 years"?

A reliable product will be:

• developed and perfected by the company producing it, rather than copied from a rival company
• manufactured under a tight quality control regime to ensure a long service life
• built in such a way that very little can go wrong; and for those components that can go wrong (e.g. vacuum tubes) there should be reliable source of spares

Consideration 2 - Environmental impact
Gasokol collectos are manufactured in Austria and Chekoslovakia. Both these countries are subject to European laws governing pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, and working within these laws incurs a proper cost. Austria produces a large proportion of it's electricity from carbon-neutral hydro electric.

In comparison, solar goods imported from the Far East may carry a substantial hidden price tag. In China 400,000 die each year as a result of air pollution, and 40 million people have had to migrate because their local ecology can no longer sustain them. And China is the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter.

Consideration 3 - Workers' rights
Goods manufactured in Europe are produced by people who enjoy minimum employment rights and earn a decent living wage. They are permitted to form and belong to unions.

This is not always the case in other parts of the world, where goods may also be produced in the absence of any Health & Safety regime.

Summary
We will install a superior product at a slighly higher cost than our cheaper competitors. But we think this is to everyone's benefit.