Corroding solar water heating panels discovered in Sydney Australia

As we suspected dry Australia - the "land of fire" is equally affected. Here are examples from two Sydney installations which are the first and only ones inspected at random to date. The person who took these photos did so by walking down a Sydney street and selecting the first two he randomly came across.

The first photo is of a Solahart that is estimated, by the manufacturer, to be over 23 years old. What is significant is that the white corrosion is visible from the ground.

The following two photos are of a Solahart installation that is a little over three years old and visibly corroded.

What these and the many other photos on this website show is that there is a progressive deterioration of flat panel collector surfaces over their lifetime. Depending on make this process is beginning as early as 6 months after installation.

According to EECA of NZ a 20 year pay back period is required for a Solahart installation and that assumes near 100% performance over that period. It is assumed that this will be a shorter period in Australia.

Please ask your friends and neighbours with solar water heating to check their systems and ask them to send me digital photos of what they find.

We are seeking to identify systems that do not have signs of discoloration. Please help
Thank you.
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