1. Solar hot water has a payback (greater than 10%) that is less than eight years even with current fossil fuel prices. Financial institutions recognize solar hot water as a no risk investment. In most cases, your Solar Hot Water system will pay for itself by increasing your property value. Generally, your solar hot water system will increase your property value more than what you initially paid for the system.

2. Tax credits and grants from State and Federal government with utility rebates will often reduce your installation cost by more than half.

3. Solar Hot Water is affordable and it has been proven over the last 30 years that it will supply over 70% of your hot water needs even in the North East.

4. Northeast Solar & Wind Power is representing the largest solar flat plate manufacture in the US that has over 30,000 installations. Their panels have a proven 30 year design life, and other government mandated certifications.

5. More than 95% of the solar hot water installations completed through out the world in the last five years have been with flat plate collectors.

6. Fossil fuels are not going to stay at their current price so therefore your investment will only get better in time.

SHWS For Space Heating Facts:

In addition to supplying 70% of your yearly domestic hot water needs additional solar hot water panels can also supply up to 50% of your space heating needs, even in the Northeast.

Excess heat from additional panels can be used to heat your pool or Jacuzzi during the summer months.

Requirements For A SHWS System :

Your roof must be in good condition and the location of your panels either on your roof or ground mounted must be unshaded. Solar hot water panels can be plus or minus 30 degrees from true south and continue to work well during all seasons. Solar Hot Water panels are 69% efficient and can also be mounted beyond the +/- 30 degrees from true south with an acceptable degree of customer satisfaction.

Flat Plate Collectors Vs. Evacuated Tube Collectors:

Germany is at a latitude equivalent to Canada and uses flat plate collectors for over 95% of their solar hot water installations.

Flat plate collectors are always used when temperatures up to 160? F hot water is needed.
This water temperature is adequate for domestic hot water, certain types of space heating delivery system's , swimming pools or Jacuzzis. Solar Research Certification Corporation, (SRCC) testing documentation supports flat plate collectors performance over evacuated tube collectors at these temperature ranges even in cloudy conditions.
Evacuated Tube collectors are mainly used when temperatures in excess of 160? F are needed.

Flat plate collectors are less expensive, shed snow in the winter, and are a more simple design that translates into a longer life expectancy than evacuated tube collectors. Frost in the morning on flat plate collectors dissipates faster than evacuated tube collectors because of the warm glass when the sun is shining.

Solar Domestic Hot Water Tank Size:

The 120 gallon system is always more efficient unless the collector ratio exceeds three gallons per sq. ft. of collector area. A 40 sq. ft. collector with 120 gallons in any climate will collect more BTU's than an 80 gallon tank and result in more savings during intermittent weather, such as sunny days followed by cloudy ones. Most buildings and basements can accommodate the added size of going from a 80 gallon tank to a 120 gallon tank and the added cost is minimal when compared the life cycle savings in energy

Parts of the above and below are from Solar Hot Water Systems by Tom Lane copyright 2004 Lessons Learned from 1977 to Today