The use of solar collectors with coloured absorbers for water heating is an area of particular interest when considering their integration with buildings. By matching the absorber colour with that of the roof or façade of the building, it is possible to achieve an architecturally and visually pleasing result. Despite the potential for the use of coloured absorbers very little work has been undertaken in the field. In this study, the thermal performance of a series of coloured, ranging from white to black, water heating solar collectors is examined. Subsequently, the annual solar fraction for typical water heating systems with coloured absorbers is calculated. The results show that coloured solar collector absorbers can make noticeable contributions to heating loads. Furthermore, although their thermal efficiency is lower than highly developed selective coating absorbers, they offer the advantage of sensitive integration with buildings.