Facts »

  • About 30% of a family's energy budget is used to heat water.
  • A Solar hot water system can replace 50% to 80% of those energy costs.
  • Solar Energy is measured in kilowatt-hours. 1 kilowatt = 1000 watt, which means 1kilowatt-hour (kWh) = the amount of electricity required to burn a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours.
  • A 1-kilowatt home solar system will prevent approximately 170 lbs. of coal from being burned, 300 lbs of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere and 105 gallons of water from being consumed each month!
  • Relying on a battery backup, a solar energy system can provide electricity 24x7, even on cloudy days and at night.
  • Solar panels come in various colors.
  • More solar energy falls on the earth in one hour than the entire population uses in one year.
  • Over the last 20 years the cost of solar energy systems has come down seven fold. As the demand for these systems rise and manufacturing volume increases, costs will decrease and the economic payback time will also decrease.
  • Monthly average residential consumption of electricity in the US in 2011 was 920 kilowatt hours. (Source: US DOE)
  • Albert Einstein won his Nobel Prize for his work on the photoelectric effect in 1921.
  • A world record was set in 1990 when a solar powered aircraft flew 2,523 miles across the USA, using no fuel.
  • Electric ovens consume the most amount of electricity, followed by microwaves and central air conditioning.
  • $83,000 - that's the amount that one Air Force base in Nevada saves per month after installing a solar energy array on site.
  • While the US has 3,900% more sunlight than Germany, the smaller European country has 6,000% more solar energy.
 
 

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How Solar Thermal Works

Solar thermal panels create hot water by absorbing the suns solar energy and transferring it to a hot water storage tank. The insulated tank stores the hot water for use anytime including when the sun is not shining.

Solar thermal systems are ideal for any climate and even work on cloudy days. Solar radiation penetrates the atmosphere and clouds, and is then collected by the solar panels.

Some homes are ideally suited to supplement their boiler with solar hot water. This application can reduce a home’s heating costs and dependency on expensive fossil fuels.

Solar thermal systems can cut water heating costs by 70% or more.Solar Hot Water Systems are designed to last for at 20 to 25 years and are capable of earning a very high return on the initial investment.

A solar hot water system will add great value to your home or property.Check out this simple diagram below.

 
There are two basic types of solar hot water panels, evacuated tube, and flat plate.
 

Evacuated tube panels consist of multiple vacuum sealed tubes that trap heat (solar radiation) from the sun regardless of the outdoor temperature. This system is ideal for supplementing space heat because it creates high temperatures.

 
 

Flat plate solar thermal panels are similar in appearance to solar electric panels, each flat plate panel has a series of small tubes that water or glycol run through. As the liquid passes through the panel it collects solar energy from the panel’s dark collection surface. Flat panels provide a more consistent level of heat over time, making them ideal for heating water for your home or business.