Solar Hot Water - Useful for Way More than Taking a Shower

When you think of solar energy, you generally think of solar panels. These panels turn the suns rays into electricity that can be used for just about any electrical device in your house or sold back to the grid.



But what about solar water heaters? At first when I heard about solar water heaters, I figured it would never pay back. The cost of running a water heater isn't so high and solar hot water heaters aren't very expensive. But 1 thing was missing... There are more options for a solar water heater.

Here's how most of them work. A liquid (generally water and a chemical to prevent the water from freezing) is pumped through tubes up to your roof where it collects heat from the sun. The hot liquid is brought back down to the tank where it goes through a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger has the solar heater fluid on one side, and clean water on the other. The liquids never touch. But the heat exchanger extracts the heat from the solar heater fluid and transfers it to the clean water. The process continues until you have hot water.

But what about other options? There are all sorts of uses for the solar water heater. Like heating homes, pools or hot tubs. Radiant floor heating uses the same liquid underneath your floors. Instead of using a water heater or boiler to accomplish this, why not use a solar heater? These heaters work even in the winter, which means that at least some of your heating expense is free. All you pay for is the cost to run a small pump to move the fluid from the roof to the tank.

In addition, the government is offering a 30% tax credit on qualifying solar water heaters, reducing your expense even more.

Unfortunately, I don't feel qualified enough to do the math on this investment. I do know that a 50 gallon tank heater can cost between $200-$450 per year in heatings costs (electric ones being the cause for the high end). The cost of heating your house can vary based on the size of the home and outside temperature. The solar water heater will reduce these expenses, but how much, I do not know exactly. Cost of a solar water heater is in the $2000+ range before tax credits and before installation.

I do think it is worth doing more research on this as the payback could be really good, especially if you can incorporate both hot water and home heating into the project. Please post with any ideas or research that you've done yourself.