Solar Domestic Hot Water
Every day millions of gas water heaters spew carbon emissions into our neighborhoods and atmosphere. Most tank-style water heaters perform at less that 60% efficiency and consume over 25% of a homes energy.
With a solar water heater you can use proven technology to heat your water with clean energy from the sun.
The Process
- Site Analysis - we come to your facility and analyze the solar potential
- Cost and Estimated Savings Proposal - We will let you know how much it will cost and how much you can expect to save.
- Design - Once given the go ahead we will design a state-of the art solar water heating system.
- Build - From permit to commission we will take care of the details and install a quality product to be enjoyed by you for years to come.
- Follow-up - We will return for periodic maintenance to keep your system running efficiently.
Costs and Savings
- Residental solar hot water systems typically range in price from $7,000 to $10,000 installed depending on the size and difficulty. There is a $2000 Federal Tax Credit that can be taken by clients for systems in this price range.
- Our goal is to eliminate 60-80% of the homes annual water heating load.
- Dollar savings for electric water heaters are the greatest as they are typically the most expensive to operate.
Sizing
Residential Solar water heating systems typically range from 40 to 80 square foot of solar collector and 60 to 120 gallons of storage.
Title 24 - California
A solar water heating system will also help your new home pass the energy audit required for Title 24 and allow you more freedom in the buildings design.
How it Works
There are several types of solar domestic hot water systems. Sunwater installs "active" solar water heaters. Below is a brief explanation:
- Solar heat is absorbed by solar "collectors" placed on the roof, shade structure or other location in the sun.
- The solar heat is delivered to a solar storage tank by a low-energy circulator.
- When hot water is turned on in the home, the solar hot water in the solar storage tank feeds the water heater.
- When fed with the solar hot water, the water heater either does not come on at all or comes on for a fraction of the time that it would without a solar hot water system.
- On days with clouds and rain, the usual water heater returns to duty and provides hot water for the house.
- At the end of the month, the savings are seen in your gas usage.