I have solar water heating in my villa in Turkey but have just taken it out as the maintenance costs exceeded the cost of heating water using electricity. If you live in the place all year round and don't have hard water you should not suffer these problems. I had problems with the float valve sticking due to lime build up which prevented the tanks emptying in winter and then I had frost damage. (It does go below freezing point at night during winter even in Mediterrainean countries)
I should be encouraging investment in Renewables as I am a government accredited Energy consultant. However my experience and the experience of clients with renewables is that on small scale equipment such as you would require. maintenance costs are high compared to the cost of the energy saved. I also work on the principle if the investment does not make sense financially then it does not make sense in terms of energy saving. Hope this helps. This is free advice for which I normally charge £400/day.

Hi Sally,

Thanks for this - I hadn't even thought about maintenance !

As we don't have mains electricity at the moment ( it is coming, but as for when.....this is Spain !!), we're looking at ways to run a pool pump continuously when we're not there - a generator isn't practical, as there's no-one to fill up the fuel !! We will be having a couple of solar panels on the roof to heat the water - it seems silly not to take advantage of the free sunshine !! We'd also like to heat the pool with solar energy, but we're waiting for the builder to get back to us on costs etc (and have been for several months !) We do know it can get cold in the winter - we just haven't experienced living in it yet.

What sort of maintenance is required for things like solar panels ?

I do appreciate your (free !!) help

Cheers,
Chris

The main problem with solar panels is when they are not used. If you have an indirect system the panels themselves are OK as they should be filled with glycol. The water side is sbject to limesale build up in hard water areas and corrosion in softwater areas. Also the water side pipes are likely to freeze if the system is left full in winter.
If the place is empty in winter drain the water side of the system and close all valves to prevent freezing. Andalucian nights can be very cold in January. You should ensure that valves are closed otherwise the tank gradually refills and you are in danger of freezing (like mine did). If you are there all year round there is less problem.
The system shou;d be inspected twice a year for problems of corrosion or build up. Corrosion can be prevented by correct choice of materials. You will no if you have problems as your water will be discoloured. Lime scale can be cured by use of suitable chemical. If you have a large demand it would be worth fitting a water softener in the system. Hope you have better luck with yours than we have with ours. One consolation is that in Med countries the systems are much cheaper.