Is a solar water heater worth installing on the roof of my house?

Question

I live in Birmingham UK and have a south facing house roof.Considering the technical requirements and the significant capital cost of installing such a system , will it provide useful hot water in reality. I am interested to hear from people who are not purely eco-evangelists?

Answer 1

It is more than math, the worst thing to do is nothing, all must do what they can.

Answer 2

I just finished studying issues such as this for four years at university.  The sensible answer is, yes, it will provide useful hot water in reality.

Because it is solar powered, you will not have any cooling effects in the winter as posted above.  There is sufficient sun light during the day to maintain hot water during normal use.

I caution however, if you plan on using a lot of hot water at night...a solar water heater will not be able to keep up with high demand in the winter.

Also, you must consider how long you will live in the home.  If it's your home for the rest of your life, it's worth it.  If your moving in a couple of years, its not...the average breakeven point (where cost of installing=savings because of installing) is approximately 10 years for solar water heaters.

Answer 3

Pay close attention to that first answer, the sensible one.  Think about the winter when the sun might not heat it so much as the cold air will cool it.  Then you might not be able to use it.

Solar, and wind, stuff can work as auxiliaries to more standard methods when your environment is conducive to it.  If you live in the Sahara desert and can find a way to finance solar electricity, why not?  You might get something even with it in the arctic circle if you lease a portable short array during the summer and install it down close to the ice.  You could get 24 hour sun on it that might pay off.

The point is to run the numbers counting ROI to see if you are wasting money besides making more pollution.  Remember, pollution is created making, transporting and installing that solar stuff and all the materials involved.

PS:  Darcyeng... (below)  I am an engineer also.  No cooling in the winter?  My God, you've found the perfect insulator!  You're going to be filthy, filthy rich!  What about raining and snowing days?  There's a lot of rain in UK winters.  Somehow I think these things would be a lot more popular if they paid.  I remember the first craze decades ago.  They're all gone.  I don't see them anymore.  I think the people who had them, took them out when they started to leak.

Answer 4

Not at all.....u can use elecricity to do the same

Answer 5

*  Judging from what I understand about your local climate, I'd say it's a waste of time and money.

Answer 6

You've got to get a pencil and paper out and do the math.  You have to take it ALL into account--What does it cost you now to heat water.? What does it cost to install and maintain your solar system?  What is the FUTURE price of all these things?  What is the expected life of the equipment?  A fair factor is the value (to you) of "saving the planet".

Be wary of manufacturer's claims.

Good luck!

Really, Odyesseus?  More than math?

Don't you think that much of the cost of installing, maintaing and manufacturing solar panels is the energy to do all of the above?  

You say we have to do SOMETHING?  Why don't we just shoot ourselves in the foot?  That's at least doing SOMETHING.

Answer 7

Ah no

Answer 8

i found this site that can help you evaluate your solar potential

http://findsolar.com/index.php?page=righ...