Solar Water Heating System
Everyday Savings
Whether an owner of a new or existing home, you will reduce water heating costs 85-95% when you install a solar water heater. In a new home you profit from the day you move in if you roll the system cost into your home mortgage since the monthly utility savings are greater than the mortgage payment increase.
You can have a simple payback of 3 to 5 years on a freeze proof, 180 mph wind proof, automatic, and properly installed solar water heater, a doubling of your hot water, and an increase in your home’s resale price. You accrue the savings, tax free, over the life of the system, and the water you heat with the sun is not affected by utility rate increases. Some of these systems have been running more than 30 years.
But That’s Not the Only Benefit.
Through 2008, installing a solar water heater can provide you with an even greater financial return - in the form of an energy tax credit. It doesn’t matter whether the system is installed in a new or existing home either. The credit, 30% of the installed system cost, can be deducted directly from the taxes you owe. You claim the credit when you file your tax return for the year the system is installed.
How It Works. Quite simply, as sunlight strikes the collector, water inside heats up. If you use an “active” system, sunlight heats the roof collector which activates a pump and controller. A pump moves cool water from the bottom of the water tank to the collector for sunwarming. The heated water circulates from the collector back to the tank. When the water in the tank is warmer than the collector water, the controller switches off the pump.
The Environment Also Benefits.
Replacing electric or gas water heating systems with a solar system also has a positive impact on the environment. Since solar doesn’t require the mining, transporting or burning of fossil fuels, you reduce the emission of harmful pollutants into our air and water. The Florida Legislature was so convinced that it was good for Florida, they created a permanent sales tax exemption for solar.
Annual Emission Savings in Pounds: Single Solar Water Heater
NOX 12 lbs, SO2 22 lbs, CO2 5000 lbs
“To be admitted to natures hearth costs nothing. None is excluded but excludes himself. You have only to push aside the curtain”
H.D. Thoreau
