Electric Heating Systems

Solar energy promises to usher in a new era of energy, energy that is free for everyone in the world to use, is completely clean, and is effectively infinite in amount. Within the next century, humanity may end energy conflicts and air pollution while creating millions of new jobs to help empower all of society. While small in the scope of things, a solar water heater system is one tiny step to achieve that goal. Originally more of a novelty than anything else, solar energy is becoming commonplace, although it may still be slightly too expensive for some home owners to afford.

Deciding What's Right for You

Until solar water heater systems are within one or two hundred dollars of conventional water heaters, they likely won't see widespread appeal. Right now, you would be hard pressed to find solar water heater systems within four hundred dollars or so of conventional water heaters, although you won't find any outlandishly priced heaters either that cost thousands upon thousands of dollars. Still, the upfront cost is too much for many folks to stomach, even though they would be saving hundreds of dollars each year, and a solar water heater system would pay itself off in energy savings within three to four years. That's because these heaters use little to no electricity, depending on the model and your location geographically. You can expect to easily shave ten percent off your energy bill each month, but many folks don't have the disposable income to invest several hundred more dollars up front for one of these systems. It's a shame too because the savings over the years would add up to thousands of dollars.

However, a myriad of solar water heating devices are available beyond drinking water. A pool solar water heater uses the sun's energy to warm up your pool to a comfortable eighty plus degrees, which makes it much more enjoyable at all times of the day. How many times have you jumped into the pool after dinnertime only to find yourself freezing? A pool heater solves this problem by keeping your pool a constant temperature at absolutely no cost to your energy bill.

Everyone can benefit from a solar water heater system, unlike pool heaters which will only benefit pool owners. If you can afford the extra several hundred dollars right now, go for it! You will love the savings over time (several hundred dollars each year). You'll save money over a conventional heater within two to three years, and it will pay itself off within five to six. For new and current home owners alike, it's never too early to make the switch to a solar water heater system.

For home improvement projects, many home owners opt to install the improvements themselves instead of paying somebody else to do it for them. Some do it because they want to save money. Others do it simply because they enjoy working with their hands. Regardless, if you're looking to build a solar water heater, there are bountiful options available for you to choose from. Some save more money than others, and your options are really opened up because you aren't stuck with whatever a particular company has in stock.

Basic Parts and Installation

The most basic parts required to build a solar water heater are of course the water heating tank, solar panels, and piping to connect everything together. Building a solar water heater isn't a particularly difficult endeavor, but it's more time consuming than anything. In fact, the most difficult aspect of building a solar water heater is proper positioning of the solar panels for the most efficient conversion of solar heat into usable heat. Positioning them incorrectly can result in less than optimal results or very poor results overall.

Also, be prepared to do a bit of sawing and drilling to connect the solar panels outside your home to the solar water heater system inside. As long as you have basic home improvement skills, you'll be just fine undertaking this type of project by yourself. Connect the panels and water heating tank using pipes (filling them with an antifreeze liquid if you live in an area which freezes during the winter). Also, if your solar water heater has a backup power supply, connect that to the power grid to ensure continuous operation in the case of insufficient solar rays on any particular day. Those steps are integral to building a solar water heater, although your particular kit may have slight variations and additional steps.

You can save hundreds of dollars up front by choosing to build a solar water heater yourself instead of paying a construction company to do it for you. You might also ask, “Why go through all this work when I can much more easily install a conventional water heater in less time?” A solar water heater is more environmentally friendly because it uses much less (if any) electricity, so you can easily shave ten percent or more off your energy bill. Building a solar water heater is also the smart choice for the environmentalist due to its efficiency and empowerment from renewable energy.

The source of nearly all of our energy is the sun. While we might use wind, oil, and rivers to help empower our world, all of those sources of energy are also made possible through the sun. Because it won't stop burning anytime soon, we can effectively consider it an infinite source of energy, and better yet, it's completely free for absolutely anyone to use. To get the biggest savings possible on your next energy bill, a passive solar water heater will use the sun's rays, saving you hundreds of dollars a year.

Just One Step to Protect the Environment

A passive solar water heater is certainly smart for the environmentalist, but it also makes sense for any home owner. It's estimated that ten percent of all home energy usage goes into water heating. If every conventional water heater was replaced with a passive solar water heater, the energy savings would be tremendous, saving at least 3-4% off the world's energy needs each year. While 3-4% doesn't sound too large, keep in mind that this could be just one step towards making the world energy independent. With other problems like water shortages shaping up to be the defining problems of the twenty-first century, we really don't have any time to spare.

Of course, there are other energy saving water heaters. Other popular versions include water heaters that heat water as it passes through instead of storing it in a large tank. After all, it doesn't make sense to heat water if you're not going to use it for hours and hours. However, a passive solar water heater ensures that you'll always have a large supply of hot water at your disposal, so it allows for some heavy usage that you'd otherwise be incapable of. The difference between active and passive solar water heaters is simple: active heaters use pumps to force hot air or liquid around, using electricity in the process, while passive heaters skip the pump and let the heated material move itself around, allowing for even larger energy savings in the process.

Fortunately if you want a solar water heater, you won't need to have somebody else install it for you. If you opt to build a solar water heater, you can save hundreds more dollars. Many do-it-yourself kits are available for purchase, and you can even build them from scratch (by buying the components separately). Building your very own passive solar water heater affords you even more versatility, so if you can do it yourself, that's the path you should definitely take.

Most people today still use conventional water heaters, which can cost hundreds of dollars each year to operate and maintain. However, the big focus in the energy industry over the past decade has been renewable energy: clean, plentiful, and cheap. At first, sources of renewable energy was too costly to be an effective solution to the world's energy crisis, but frequent technological advances have made possible the dream of a world independent of oil and coal. To continue this trend, you can replace your conventional water heater with a state of the art solar hot water heater.

Any Climate

One of the most impressive features of solar hot water heaters is that they are quite versatile. They can be used in any climate, although there are different types for warm and cold climates to optimize their efficiency. For example, solar hot water heater models for colder climates use an antifreeze liquid to transfer heat energy to the water heater, while models designed for warmer climates skip the antifreeze because it wouldn't be necessary. This means that no matter where you live, you can purchase and install a solar hot water heater for your home.

Not only can you shave 10% of your energy bill off each month, but you will also be helping the environment out while you're at it. Think about it – you can easily save $25 off your energy bill each month and help the environment. It's a win-win situation that even if you can afford to pass up, you won't want to. So how hard is it to install a solar power water heater? You probably won't want to do it yourself, but you can expect to pay little more than a thousand at most to cover the cost of the heater and installation, so those savings will become even more apparent after about three years. Additionally, if you add the cost onto a mortgage, you'll be able to shave a few more dollars off in tax deductions.

Of course in an idealistic world, the first consideration for installing an environmentally-friendly appliance would be the environment and not money (although that's generally not the case). However, a solar hot water heater is both economical and environmentally helpful as you'll be releasing less carbon dioxide into the air. The sun is going to burn brightly for a few more million years, so it's about time that we start using it to provide cheap and infinite power. Without a doubt, such appliances will become even more efficient in the years to come, but that's hardly a reason to wait. Each month that you put it off, you're simply losing money that you could be saving with a solar hot water heater.