Hot Water Gets Green

Want to make your home’s hot water a little greener and save a little green in the process?

Thanks to the eight-year extension of the commercial and residential solar investment tax credit signed into law in October, homeowners who purchase a new solar water heating system will still be able to receive a 30-percent federal tax credit - or up to $2,000.

“Solar water heating is a good alternative to traditional sources such as natural gas because the carbon footprint is greatly reduced,” says Jared Blanton, assistant manager of communications for the Solar Energy Industries Association in Washington, D.C. “Also, solar water heating users have certainty in their heating and cooling costs, where other consumers can see costs rise with the price of fuel.”

The popularity of solar water heating systems has grown by leaps and bounds, industry insiders say.

“Our firm has seen our sales increase at over 200 percent over the past 36 months,” says Steve Gorman, president of TCT Solar in Jacksonville, Fla.

Unlike many companies that offer flat plate collection systems to capture solar radiation, TCT Solar offers a roof-mounted copper tube system that absorbs solar radiation, connects to your conventional water tank and operates without a pump. Costing between $2,500 to $5,000 to heat water for a family of four, the system can supply a family between 70 to 85 percent of their total annual hot water, saving owners up to about $30 a month.

“Our system is a passive solar water heater requiring only water pressure and the sun to operate,” Gorman says. “No mechanical or electronic parts are needed to operate.”

Another intriguing approach is offered by Richmond, Calif.-based Heliodyne, which manufactures a flat plate collector system mounted on the roof. Heliodyne’s system hooks up to a pump that not only circulates the solar fluid from the collector to your home’s hot water supply, it can also pump the heated water through your home’s radiant flooring system - if you have one - providing space heating for your home.

“What we offer is a two-in-one package,” says Michael Stough, Heliodyne’s marketing coordinator. “Not only do you get radiant floor heating, you also get domestic water for your showers, etc.”

For an average family of four, Heliodyne’s two-in-one package will probably run about $10,000 to $15,000, Stough says. The company also offers a package for solar water heating alone - costing about $5,000.

Over the course of the average system lifespan, maybe 25 years or so, Stough estimates that a typical residential household of four people will save thousands of dollars on their heating bill alone. With state and local tax incentives and other rebate programs, solar water heating systems can pay for themselves in as little as a few years, depending on where in the country you live. For more information on these incentives, go to www.dsireusa.org. Another benefit is the savings to the environment: reducing your home’s contribution to carbon dioxide emissions from conventional heating methods.

“If you were to install a solar hot water system, it’s the equivalent of taking one car off the road for a year,” Stough says. “That works out to about a ton of carbon dioxide emissions you’ve reduced. Overall, it can be reducing as much as 30 percent of your carbon dioxide emissions in your home.”

“The green element is becoming more popular,” Gorman says. “The economics are secondary. That’s new. That’s a shift in the consumer’s mind.”