A Solar Water Heater Is A Good First Step Toward Using Solar Energy

A Solar Water Heater Is A Good First Step Toward Using Solar Energy

21-Jun-2011 If you are considering tapping the sun for some of your energy needs, a solar water heater is a good place to start. To begin with, these systems are eligible for a 30 percent federal tax credit on cost and installation, as long as they are in service by 2016. Equally important, you can save up to 80 percent of your energy costs for heating water. As an added bonus, you will be using a free, clean and renewable energy source that does not diminish our natural resources or contribute harmful emissions to the environment.

These systems consist of a collector that transforms the sun's energy into heat, a storage tank located in the home for holding heated water, and a system for transferring either heat or hot water from the collector to the tank. Solar water heaters require a backup energy source, typically gas or electricity, to compensate for cloudy days or times of high usage. The systems are available in two configurations:

    •Direct circulation—pumps water heated into the collector directly into the home; this is ideal for     climates where freezing temperatures are rare
    •Indirect circulation—pumps a non-freezing heat-transfer fluid (such as glycol mixtures or refrigerants     commonly used in air conditioners and refrigerators) into a heating coil located in the storage tank; this     system is more common in areas prone to freezing

More detailed information is available through an online guide published by Energy Star, a federal program designed to promote energy efficiency.

Before deciding on the type and capacity of the system best for your home, you should conduct a site analysis. First, you need an unshaded, south-facing location to mount the collector, ideally on a roof with a pitch equal to your latitude (for example, 34 degrees in the Columbia area). You have, however, considerable leeway without significantly compromising your solar system's efficiency.

Additional site analysis becomes more complicated, and requires evaluating solar resources and other detailed calculations best left to an expert. The professionals at Comfort Services will gladly answer any questions you have or get you on your way to switching to solar water heating.

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