Are Solar Hot Water Heaters Worth It

If you currently have an electric storage hot water system your household energy consumption will probably break down like this.

Are solar hot water heaters worth it.

In fact a recent report by the solar energy industries association estimates that solar heating and cooling shc in the u s. Solar water heaters are cost effective reliable and use proven technology developed right here in australia and pioneered by solahart back in 1953. You ll receive a tax credit of 1 300 bringing the total cost of your system down to just 3 700. That s for a flat plate thermosiphon tank on roof style system like the one in the first pic above.

This is quite high when compared to a conventional gas water heater s 600 to 1 350. The answer of course is yes. According to a 2012 study by the national renewable energy lab p. 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.

3 buy a conventional solar hot water system that uses the heat of the sun to directly heat the water in hot water panels. Solar will save you most of that electricity and typically shave 500 700 per year off your bill. You can see that around 25 of your electricity bill is used to heat your water. Generate almost 8 percent of the nation s heating and.

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. Department of energy solar water heaters reduce monthly utility bills by 50 percent to 80 percent on average. 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. Xii the average solar water heater costs between 6 000 and 10 000 before incentives.

A hot water diverter costs about 1000 without a cylinder. According to the u s. It s important to remember that current payback periods are tied to today s utility rates. There are two main types of solar water heating systems active and passive.

These cost about 4000 5000. The price of a suitable solar hot water system is about 4 000 installed. Solar water heating is a system that directly heats the water that gets pumped into your home. 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.

Whether any of these options make financial sense depends on how much you pay per kwh of electricity to heat your water. With savings like that solar water heaters pay for themselves very quickly usually within 5 to 10 years. 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.