Are Solar Hot Water Heaters Worth It

Solar water heaters are cost effective reliable and use proven technology developed right here in australia and pioneered by solahart back in 1953.

Are solar hot water heaters worth it.

It s important to remember that current payback periods are tied to today s utility rates. Use a solar hot water system to heat the water directly a solar hot water system will typically cut your water heating energy bills by 70 80. The answer of course is yes. If you replace your current gas or electric water heater with a solar water heater you could save up to 65 3 of your hot water energy use.

Department of energy solar water heaters reduce monthly utility bills by 50 percent to 80 percent on average. There are two main types of solar water heating systems active and passive. The investment tax credit also known as the federal solar tax credit offers a credit equal to 26 of the costs of installing a solar water heater. A hot water diverter costs about 1000 without a cylinder.

Whether any of these options make financial sense depends on how much you pay per kwh of electricity to heat your water. That s for a flat plate thermosiphon tank on roof style system like the one in the first pic above. This varies based on the area of the country you live in the type of unit you buy and how much hot water your family uses. Solar water heating is a system that directly heats the water that gets pumped into your home.

Both can be dependent on the climate so it is still recommended to give them a try during the warmer months of the year. Solar will save you most of that electricity and typically shave 500 700 per year off your bill. If you currently have an electric storage hot water system your household energy consumption will probably break down like this. So let s say your solar water heater costs 5 000.

According to the u s. You can see that around 25 of your electricity bill is used to heat your water. In fact a recent report by the solar energy industries association estimates that solar heating and cooling shc in the u s. 3 buy a conventional solar hot water system that uses the heat of the sun to directly heat the water in hot water panels.

Xii the average solar water heater costs between 6 000 and 10 000 before incentives. The price of a suitable solar hot water system is about 4 000 installed. You ll receive a tax credit of 1 300 bringing the total cost of your system down to just 3 700. However what you need to consider is how long it will take for you to recoup the investment in buying a solar water heating unit.

Generate almost 8 percent of the nation s heating and. With savings like that solar water heaters pay for themselves very quickly usually within 5 to 10 years. This is quite high when compared to a conventional gas water heater s 600 to 1 350.