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Solar Water Heating
How Much You’ll Save
While each situation is unique and all projects should be modeled to ensure that the installation will in fact save you money, the typical payback on a solar thermal system is anywhere from 5-7 years depending on the installation, hot water usage and whether or not you need to replace your existing hot water system. The following figures represent a common solar hot water package:
| System Installation | $7,500 | Includes all system parts, permits, and connections. Our service warranty follows the equipment warranty. |
| Federal Tax Credit (30%) | -$2,100 | Consult your tax professional for your personal tax eligibility. State tax credit available through 2015, federal through 2016. |
| State Tax Credit (35%) | -$1,400 (maximum allowed) | |
| NET COST | $4,000 | After tax credits |
| Estimated Annual Energy Savings | $200-700/year | Varies, depending on hot water use, fuel system being replaced and assumes rising energy prices due to inflation. |
For customers needing to replace their water heater, or currently using electric or liquid propane systems, a solar hot water system quickly pays for itself! Enjoy hot water, year round, and virtually free – for years to come.
How it works
A typical installation consists of 2 4×8′ flat plate solar collectors mounted on your roof, a pump, and an 80-gallon water storage tank. One collector is shown in the diagram for simplicity. To understand how the system works, we’ll start from the pump where everything gets started.
The fluid in the system’s pipes can be either water or non-toxic food grade propylene glycol, and is kept separate from the water that you drink. When the sun’s rays warm the fluid in the collectors to a high enough temperature, a sensor tells the pump to turn on. This forces the heated fluid back down the pipes and into the water storage tank, which also serves as a backup water heater on extremely cold or cloudy days.
In the storage tank, the heated fluid passes through a coil of pipe called a heat exchanger, where heat is transferred to the cooler water in the tank. When the fluid exits the tank, it is now much cooler, and it is up to the pump to get it back up to the collectors where it can be warmed again.
The cycle continues, with the water in your storage tank becoming warmer with every pass. When it becomes hot enough, the pump shuts off, discontinuing the cycle until there is a need for more hot water.
A Time-Proven Technology
People all around the world use the sun to heat their water. They have known for decades what seems to have escaped our modern building industry, that the sun is a reliable and efficient source of heat. Even on cloudy days, the efficiency of solar hot water panels is such that you will still generate enough heat from the sun’s rays to deliver hot water.
Sundogs Solutions uses the highest quality systems for all of our solar thermal installations. SOLARHOT, based here in the Triangle, produces some of the most efficient panels available on the market today. Coupled with their integrated heat exchanger and control package SolVelox, you have a simple and reliable system that will perform for years to come. AET, based in Florida, is a GSA-approved government contractor which manufactures their highly efficient collectors here in the USA.
To learn more about how solar hot water works or to schedule an evaluation and installation, give us a call or contact us. We would love to hear from you!
