Solar water heaters are a cost-effective way to generate hot water for your home. They can cut your water heating bills in half and significantly reduce your carbon footprint. They can be used in any climate and the fuel they use, sunlight, is free. The most popular uses of solar water heaters are heating hot water for radiant heating and for heated swimming pools.

Buying a solar system can take about 10 years to pay for itself, but by taking advantage of federal and state tax credits, it can pay for itself much sooner. Solar water heaters also last much longer than gas or electric water heaters. In the meantime, your investment will pay dividends for the environment. ENERGY STAR qualified solar water heaters can cut your carbon dioxide emissions in half. Installing a qualified solar water heater will reduce the load on your electric water heater by nearly 2,500 kWh per year, preventing 4,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere annually. This is the equivalent of not driving your car for four months every year!

Solar water heaters come in two different types of systems. One is called pumped system and the other compact system. Both will typically use a separate power source such as an electric heating element or could be connected to a central heating system which could be oil or gas fired and only come on if the water in the storage tank gets cold. less than 50°C. .

This combination will ensure that you always have hot water available. You could also go one step further and have a combination of solar water heating combined with a wood stove that will also work in colder climates and use no electricity or fossil fuels.

When you use solar energy, the collectors are usually placed on the roof of the house or building or perhaps on the wall facing the sun. There are cases where the collector is alone, but this is unusual. The passive system pushes the fluid through the manifold and the active system pumps the working fluid through it.

Solar water heaters make sense both financially and environmentally. In warmer climates the backup power source will be used very little and even in colder climates the amount used is significantly less than a traditional water heater.

If you’re interested in other renewable energy sources, check out our new book “Renewable Energy Explained.” The link is in the resources area. You will not regret. It contains all the important information you are looking for about renewable energy.