Describe the products and services supplied by Solahart
In 1953, Solahart was the first company in Australia to manufacture solar hot water systems. Since then, Solahart has made over 1 million systems for both the Australian and world markets. Within Australia, Solahart is predominantly known as a domestic brand that specialises in upgrading existing houses from electric and gas water heaters to solar alternatives.
Solahart manufactures a traditional range of thermosiphon solar hot water heaters as well as split systems, which feature a tank located on the ground and panels mounted on a roof. Solahart also has a range of heat pumps and recently released a photovoltaic range as well.
What has been one of Solahart’s most successful installation projects?
Solahart has been involved in many installation projects both in Australia and overseas. One that stands out is a recent contract for the United Nations, for which Solahart won the tender to supply 5,000 solar water heaters to thousands of mobile sanitary facilities, destined for danger zones and disaster areas around the world. Solahart was chosen due to the company’s manufacturing processes and reputation for quality and reliability.
Are there any large-scale projects Solahart has recently worked on?
Solahart recently completed a major project on Saadiyat Island, located approximately 500 metres off the coast of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The island is being developed to eventually be home to 150,000 people, and will incorporate 29 hotels, three marinas and a host of luxury apartments. Solahart was chosen to provide the hot water for 20,000 construction workers involved in the project. Solahart installed 3,328 solar collectors to provide 605,000 litres of hot water per day. This is one of the largest solar hot water projects undertaken in the world to date.
What have been some recent technological developments in the solar hot water industry that Solahart is intent on incorporating into its products and services?
Solahart has just invested significantly in its factory to increase robotics in order to facilitate a boost in collector manufacturing. At the same time we have moved to laser welding of our collectors and these two initiatives have improved the precision of our operation. We are also constantly trialling new selective surfaces to use on our absorber plates to ensure the maximum amount of solar gain from our products.
What is your outlook for the solar hot water industry in Australia?
With gas and electricity prices continuing to rise, Solahart sees a bright future for solar water in Australia. The rise in electricity prices is front page news and households are always looking for ways to mitigate those costs.
The inevitable increase in gas prices, as Australian gas producers choose to liquefy their product and send it overseas where they can get higher prices than they can domestically, will place continued upward pressure on the market. As water heaters are the biggest user of natural gas in the home, we predict there will be a shift to solar hot water products.
What important industry development must take place in order to ensure the continued growth of the industry?
The industry really needs government to continue to be sympathetic to our cause. They need to continue to have solar hot water incorporated into the Renewable Energy Target and also continue with a mix of Federal and State Government rebates.
Solahart is also looking forward to seeing more details about the phase-out of electric water heaters in existing Australian homes – this policy, more than any other, will ensure the future of the solar water heater industry.
