Solar Hot Water
A big impact for us and...
Solar hot water, let's get right into it.
 Did you know that 15 to 25 % of our annual utility bill is spent for hot water alone?
Although it’s the most expensive utility, there is a green alternative: Solar water systems!
It's funny… back in the early 1900's, an estimated 7.5 million hot water solar systems where installed on rooftops in the United States.
What happened since then? I guess we weren’t concerned enough about the future of our planet.
Today, because we are more environmentally responsible, installing hot water solar system can make a big difference for us, our children and their children's children.
What is a hot water solar system?
 A solar hot water system starts with a solar panel or better known as a solar collector.
These collectors are normally installed on rooftops but they can be found on walls or on ground installations.
Directly connected to your existing hot water tank or to another one beside it, they "collect" the sun's energy to heat your household water.
There are two main types of solar systems; open loop and closed loop.
 Open loop systems are simple.
They use your household water as the heat transfer liquid.
In these systems, the cold water circulates directly through the collectors and then to your tank.
Note: these systems are used where freezing is not a concern.
The other types of solar systems are closed loop.
 These systems use non-toxic, food grade antifreeze called propylene glycol as their heat transfer liquid.
Like the open loop systems, the antifreeze circulates through the collectors and then goes to a second tank beside your existing one.
The cold water then goes in the second tank and is heated without mixing with the water. Then it flows to your exiting tank when needed.
These two types of solar water systems are also used for pool heating.
When using efficient collectors, most of these systems are capable of producing 40 to 100% of your hot water needs.
The ratio between your geographic location and the size of the system will influence the performance’s percentage. The money invested in these systems is like prepaying for hot water.
Check with your municipality, state/province and federal government for incentives. Sometime you can combine them for bigger savings.
Let The Sunshine E-zine
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Feel the power... The Power of Solar Energy!
Hot water solar systems can reduce or better yet eliminate, the negative environmental impact caused by fossil-powered systems on our environment.Invest in your children's future.
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