Solar Hot Water: The Guardian Agrees With Us
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 04.15.08
Image courtesy of Solartwin
Only last month we were wondering why more houses don’t have solar hot water heaters – in fact, we were advocating that every house should have one. It seems others are agreeing with us, with Lucy Siegle over at The Guardian wondering why more UK households haven’t taken up this most accessible of micro-generation technologies. While she acknowledges that government grants can help encourage uptake, she points out that the system is notoriously difficult to navigate:
Grants are available from the Government's Low Carbon Building Programme, but I don't think it's unfair to say that the scheme has hardly been a resounding success. If you can work out how to apply for one, the grants allow you to choose from a handful of accredited suppliers (cynics say they are the most expensive solar fitters) to offset some of the cost of installation. A recent overhaul of the grant programme gives a munificent windfall of a whole 40p extra per household to fit domestic renewables. Spend it wisely.
For those wanting to rough it, you can always try building your own. But whether you go the DIY route or take the commercially installed option, we're pleased to see increased recognition of this 'forgotten' renewable technology in the media.
::The Guardian::via site visit::
We'll be getting one after we fix our rather nasty roof...
Can't even consider such an option as I have 5 giant oak trees shading my house to lower my electric bill in the summer.
We tried setting up some solar walk lights at one point. They would glow for about 2 hours each night. We gave them to a friend who lives in a new subdivision where they don't have trees.
Because my house has an oil boiler in excess of 30 year old (I think it has asbestos on it!), I'm going to try to convince my parents to either get a huge insulation overhaul, a new burner (we have a nat gas main that goes to our house), or solar thermal. I'm a bit scared to ask him what the heating bill was this year. I already did weatherstriping, calking etc this winter, insulated the hot water pipes, and got a dryer heat redirector, so I think I got most of the "low hanging fruit" done.
I would love to have something like this. But can anyone comment on how well they hold heat during cold weather, particularly on cloudless winter nights?
There are many reasons that one may not choose to install a solar water heater. Like Pan said, some properties are shaded, thus the water heater would be ineffective. I considered it, but the price is too high. The federal tax credit is only a few hundred dollars, my state offers no incentives, and I won't likely be in the house long enough to see anything near a payback from the utility savings. Whether or not I would get the money back upon sale of the house depends on whether or not buyers are willing to pay more for it. In this area it is risky.