Is Solar Water Heating For Me?

Does solar water heating make sense and will it save me money?

Canadians can heat water for domestic consumption without causing pollution or paying for expensive fossil fuels or electricity ... by using solar energy.

While conventional water heating appliances cost money and pollute the air, solar water heaters use only clean energy from the sun, they consume no dirty fossil fuels, and they can pay for themselves in energy savings. Even the pump in a solar water heating system can run on solar electric power.

Modern solar water heating collectors feature sleek, low-profile design

Technological advances and high fuel prices have made solar energy a cost-effective choice for water heating in Canada. A solar heating system will pay for itself in energy cost savings in three to seven years, or sooner - equivalent to making up to 20% every year on a investment funds.

Water heating accounts for one third of the average residential energy consumption, and a solar system can reduce that cost by 50% - 80%, saving an average of $500 - $1000 a year.

The cost to install a solar water heating system in an average home will be $3,500.

Solar water heaters already save energy and reduce fuel costs in hundreds of homes and businesses across Canada. They are designed for the Canadian climate, and there are units in operation that were installed more than 25 years ago.

Solar systems obviously work on hot summer days, but did you know that they can also deliver bath temperature (40 C) water on a sunny winter day when the outside temperature is - 20 C.

Since there is no ‘burner’ and since the only moving part is the circulating pump, a solar water heater can deliver hot water for many years with a minimum or no maintenance. Systems are designed to last at least for 15 years and come with a longer warranty period than conventional water heating appliances.

Aesthetically, the collectors are the only part of the solar heating system that is visible outside your home. Modern collectors feature sleek, low-profile design, they are attractively appointed, and they are available in various appropriate dark tones to complement a wide variety of building styles.

Inside the home, the solar heating system is completely contained in a small area, usually a mechanical or furnace room, and requires only about the same amount of space as a conventional hot water tank.

Piping and wiring for the solar unit is hidden behind walls or in attic spaces, or brought subtly down an outside wall in a run of colour-matched insulated conduit.

This is the best time to reap the numerous benefits of solar power!

• Easy to install Do-It-Yourself Kits
• Low Investment - High Return
• Savings pay for system in 3-5 years!

Solar heating systems can be sized to efficiently meet the hot water demand of a single occupant home, but the most cost-effective application is in homes which consume large volumes of hot water.

Thousands of dollars can be saved annually with solar. In general, the more hot water a household uses, the higher the benefit derived from a solar hot water system and the faster the solar investment will pay for itself.

The sun’s energy is gathered in roof-, wall-or ground-mounted south facing panels, called solar collectors. Throughout the day, a system controller compares the temperatures of the solar collectors and an indoor fluid storage reservoir. When there is enough warmth in the collectors to heat the fluid in the reservoir, the controller signals a pump to circulate a heat transfer fluid to the collectors and gather heat.

That sun-heated fluid circulates through a heat exchanger, which delivers the heat into a well-insulated indoor tank of water. From there, the solar heated water feeds into the home’s conventional hot water system as required.

Units do not freeze during a winter’s night because most units are ‘freeze protected’ with a special antifreeze (which never comes into contact with the domestic water), while other models simply drain their water contents back into the indoor heat storage reservoir when the system shuts down for the night.

There is little or no maintenance to be done on a solar hot water system.

To take advantage of a solar water heater, your home must have an unshaded section of roof or wall, or an unshaded patch of ground close to the house. Solar systems can be designed into new construction or retrofit into existing homes.

 Solar Water Heating

Is Solar Water Heating For Me?

Call: 1-705-533-1633