My solar water heater to be installed today

[trof]

4' X 10' self draining panel on south facing roof.
80 gal. tank.
A recirc pump and plumbing to get instant hot water to bathrooms at other end of house.
No more 2-3 gallons of perfectly good water down the drain waiting for showers to heat up.
Total cost around $5200.
Approx. $1600 tax credit.
Net cost $3600.

Payback 4-5 years at CURRENT electricity prices.
Faster as prices rise.
Which they will.
:bounce:

[lisa58]

1. Totally cooooooool...

...I want one!

[rwork]

2. Congratulations.

We really want to put one in. Not sure if Okla., has tax credit or not.
Does yours use the anti-freeze heat exchanger type system?

[trof]

11. Self draining when temp gets too low.

[gateley]

3. Good for you!

:yourock:

[NNN0LHI]

4. What happens if it is cloudy for a week or so?

Do they still work?

Don

[trof]

12. "If you can see a shadow, you're heating water."

That's what the guy said.
Wouldn't you know today, the first day with our new system, is completely overcast.
No shadows.
:-(

Yesterday while they were putting the panel on the roof it was scorching.
:shrug:

[NNN0LHI]

18. If I tried explaining that to my wife as she took a cold bath she would kick my ass real good

I think I need a different system here?

Don

[trof]

20. For everyone: How It Works...

It's piggy-backed on to our electric water heater.
So it's not 'no sun, no hot water'.
Normally the temp in the 80 gal. solar holding will be higher than the temp in the electric water heater, so the water heater stays off.

If the water in the holding tank should drop below that set for the electric then the electric takes over.

[NNN0LHI]

21. The biggest problem I could see here is how low the sun gets in the south during winter

I am thinking I would need some sort of mechanical system to adjust the angle of the panels for that where I live? Maybe that is an option or comes standard?

Summer is no problem the sun is dead overhead.

Do they have some way of adjusting for that to get maximum efficiency out of the system?

Don

[trof]

22. My roof angle is good for year round down here.

Coastal Alabama.
But there are adjustable ones.
Even motorized ones that track the best angle automatically.
A lot pricier though.

[siligut]

5. Good on you!

Smart investment. The technology has been around for a while but its use will grow at an exponential rate now that our existence is believed to be threatened.

[TooBigaTent]

6. THIRTY god damned years ago, I worked on a DOE project that encouraged

the use of solar energy for hot water & heating. The tax credits for this and conservation had been institutued by Jimmy Carter.

Then, Raygun came in, gutted the project, and Amerika has basically ignored the energy crisis ever since.

I congratulate you on taking the action. If only we as a nation had done this three decades ago, the situation would be much, much better today.

[SlingBlade]

10. Imagine where we would be now

had we listened and followed the lead of Mr. Carter. ArrrrGGG

[trof]

13. I remember that.

We got tax credit for installing solar heating and a solar greenhouse on our home in NH.
Wish we'd continued to follow Carter's lead.
:-(

[Bigmack]

17. Didn't he pull the solar array off the WH roof? nt

[kath]

24. yeppers - one of the VERY first things he did when he took office.

And he GUTTED virtually all alternative-energy research.

What a fokkin' asshole.
Saint Ronnie my ass -- he did so many bad things to this country.

[bdamomma]

7. alternative energy is always a good idea.

[rurallib]

8. We have an on demand water heater

not quite as ecologically friendly as yours, but then we live in Iowa and the sun is missing in the winter.
We get as much hot water as we want and it only runs when we want it to. So much better than that container of water sitting there heating & cooling over and over.
Congratulations and enjoy your hot water.

[roody]

9. Payback is instant!!

Knowing you are doing good, and bragging rights as well.

[trof]

15. And if/when we put house on market

I think this will be a compelling selling point.
So far we're the only ones in the neighborhood.

[fascisthunter]

14. WOW.... I'm Passing this on to a few Home Owners

That price isn't that bad at all.

[trof]

16. Update:

3 guys came to install at 8:30 a.m.
Said "2-3 hour job".
We left for a get together with friends at 5:30 p.m.
"You guys lock up when you leave."
;-)

They were gone when we returned around 8:30.
And wouldn't you know the first day it's installed the sky is overcast.
:-(

[otohara]

19. Very Cool

something to celebrate for sure.

[kath]

23. I thought they did away with the energy-saving tax credits for homeowners??

We've been planning on adding insulation and storm doors. I thought the tax credits went bye-bye at the end of 2007.

I wonder if our neighborhood homeowners' association would let us have a solar panel on the roof -- it's plenty damned sunny here in OK.
We have a gas water heater, which is quite a bit cheaper to run than electric, but still. At the very least, I'd like to have one of those tankless heaters.

[flvegan]

25. Your net cost is actually an unrealized gain.

Your home will likely be worth at least $5k more tomorrow morning.

[Yupster]

26. I've got one for my pool

but it's been sitting in the box for a week because the installer keeps telling me he's too busy to put it up.

Our town is so short of labor that nothing is getting done when it's supposed to for the last two years.

[Fox Mulder]

27. How long do they last?

Do they last as long as an average water heater? Longer?

That's really sweet. I'm glad you got one. I hope more homes follow.