You can read the details of how they work here. Heat Pump Solar Hot WaterĪ heat pump is also a solar hot water system, in that it takes the heat out of the air and transfers it into the water. The lower-cost alternative is a heat pump. Now that’s what I call an efficient system.īut I need to stress that, although solar thermal hot water systems are my personal choice, they are not the cheapest solar hot water system you can buy, and they do require roof space, the installation of pipes up to your roof, and a relatively large up-front investment. Overall, with PV boosted solar hot water, you are looking at 80-90% of your hot water heating coming from the sun. If you have a Solar PV system too (and you should), then your solar electricity can provide most of the boosting energy too.
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They are not cheap, but they are an investment that will provide reliable, piping hot water, mostly free from the sun for the next 20 years. Fully installed, it will cost between $4,000 and $8,000 depending on the size and collector type. A good system should last 20 years and have a maintenance checkup every 5 years. It sits out of sight, on your roof silently working away, day after day, using the heat of the sun to directly supply the majority of your family’s hot water needs. Source: Dept of Resources, Energy and Tourism Conventional Solar Hot WaterĪ well designed solar thermal hot water system is elegant, reliable and efficient. The tank can be on the ground (as shown) or on the roof. Image: A conventional Solar Hot Water System: Your water is heated on the roof. This is a solar collector on the roof boosted by either gas or electricity. In my opinion, the best solution to heating water in a home in Australia, if finances and roof space allow, is a solar thermal hot water system. Question #1: What type of hot water system? Conventional or Heat Pump?Īnswer: Get Conventional Solar Thermal Hot Water – if possible. I’ve spent days thinking about the best way to approach buying solar hot water and I think I’ve managed to distill it into high level 3 questions/decisions. To avoid this tragic result, I’m going to try and dispassionately work through what kind of solar hot water system is best for you, before you go and get quotes. It is not unusual for the confused consumer to give up and do nothing, sticking with his or her horribly inefficient electric or gas storage system. The net result is that buying solar hot water can be really confusing, as each vendor passionately tells you how his solution is the best. There are lots of options when it comes to choosing a solar hot water system, and even more opinions out there on what you should buy. I guess solar hot water just isn’t as sexy as a shield-shaped battery that sits on your wall? But that’s a rant for another time. When only 10% of homes have solar hot water, we should be advocating solar hot water over batteries. In fact, all the hype around batteries is driving me up the wall. You’d be nuts to consider buying a battery if you haven’t yet upgraded your hot water system. In other words, it is six times cheaper to store solar energy in a good hot water system compared a battery. A hot water system is one-third of the price and will last twice as long as a fully-installed Powerwall (including enough panels to charge it). You can heat the water during the day, and use it the following morning.Īnd a hot water system is much, much cheaper than a regular battery such as a Tesla Powerwall. It stores your energy, ready for when you need it. A good, well insulated, solar hot water system is like a big battery. It can accept solar energy at any time, storing it as heat. When it comes to solar energy, hot water is almost the perfect electrical load. A solar hot water system is like a battery – but much, much cheaper In a country as hot as Australia, that just makes no sense.Ī good solar hot water system combined with solar PV can reduce your water heating bills by 90%. Unfortunately, in our sun drenched country, most homes heat 100% of their water with an inefficient resistive electric element (AKA a giant kettle), or a gas flame.
So if you want an efficient home, you really need to look at your water heating. Water heating is the second biggest energy user in a typical Aussie home.
Home > Start Here Slash Your Water Heating Bills With Solar Hot Water
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