This project in photos!
Investing in renewable energies is a way of enhancing the value of your home
A former printer by profession, Mr. Ruffet is now retired. His wife worked in the tourism industry and 30 years ago, they built their house in Founex, in the canton of Vaud (district of Nyon). For hot water and heating, they previously used an electric system with a water tank that heated at night during off-peak hours.
This system was sufficient to cover hot water needs and to heat the house with underfloor heating. After 30 years, however, it became clear that this system, encouraged by the authorities at the time, was consuming far too much energy.
Today, it’s essential to save energy whatever the time of day, which is not possible with electric heating. So, by installing solar panels with a geothermal heat pump, Mr. and Mrs. Ruffet were looking to reduce their electricity bills and make their savings pay off.
Investing in renewable energies is also a way of enhancing the value of the home. The day they want to sell, being equipped with a modern, sustainable heating system will enable them to resell the house more easily and at a much better price. This was the advice of a local real estate specialist.
12 solar panels were installed on the roof, enabling them to optimize self-consumption of the electricity generated by the panels. The job was very well done by the installer, Vionnet SA, who suggested our 2-in-1 solar solution.
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Interview with installer
Edouard Vionnet is Managing Director of Vionnet Fils Chauffage SA, a heating company. He started out in solar photovoltaics in 2008 with Schott, but has been installing solar thermal systems since the company was founded.
How did you hear about Dualsun?
We found out about Dualsun through your distributor for French-speaking Switzerland, Solexis. What’s more, we had already installed a thermal system on a site that also included a photovoltaic field, and the two side by side were not aesthetically optimal, which is why we suggested your hybrid solution to the architect.
How did the installation go?
The solar installation went very well. Generally speaking, these days, installing a 2 kWp array goes very quickly, and if there are no unpleasant surprises, it’s done within a day.
In your opinion, why develop solar energy and what vision do you have for solar power in 20 years’ time?
Solar energy is free and inexhaustible. I see no reason not to develop solar energy. It should be everywhere! Today, I don’t understand what’s holding people back from installing solar power systems, whether they’re thermal, PV or mixed, because there are so many possible applications.
As far as we’re concerned, no energy is better than another; it’s all a question of case by case. But solar power clearly has an advantage, whether thermal or photovoltaic.
