Solar hot water systems can be used to heat water for all your domestic needs including for showering, laundry, and general cleaning as well as to supply radiant heat to heat your house or your pool.
What You Should Know
- Solar hot water systems come in various forms. Some systems have no moving parts and are a solar assist to your regular hot water tank. Other systems can be fully integrated that both supply hot water and heat to your house.
- Most solar hot water systems have a back-up hot water heater for those winter days when the sun is not out as much.
- A solar hot water system can supply 60% to 80% or more of all your hot water needs depending on the system.
Easy Things You Can Do
- Find out whether your home could support solar panels. Examine your roof to see whether it faces southeast to southwest for optimal placement of solar panels.
- Educate yourself about solar hot water heating. Click here for more information.
- Find a solar contractor. Click here to locate contractors that install solar hot water systems.
Source: Northern California Solar Energy Association Web, U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy web site, Acterra (David Coale)