Should i get solar hot water heating?

Question

i live on prince edward island

Answer 1

Probably not, you can't be getting very much sunlight at your latitude.  

Only if purchased electricity or gas is not available.

Answer 2

Yeah, man!  I want that even though it's expensive.

Answer 3

not likely, solar water heaters require many hours of sunshine, and they also lose much heat trough the long pipes you need.

You could consider a small wind turbine. about 0.5 Kw output, which you plug directly to the grid at home. it saves more energy. however, you need a suitable location, a place where it won't bother the neighbors, and still has enough wind year around.

Answer 4

A small wind turbine would probably be a better investment.

Answer 5

Of course you can build one yourself.  No electricity needed if its the thermosiphon solar hot water heater.  Consult some local solar companies for the panels and the rest you can install yourself.

Answer 6

Without government subsidies, it is certainly not cost effective in your area, since it is not here in Phoenix.

You only do it because you want to help your environment and feel good about it. You can tell everyone how "Green" you are and feel superior to the simple masses.

Answer 7

ya. it will defenitely save your bills for the month.

Answer 8

The main advantage of solar hot water heating, is that is will raise the hot water temperature, so even if you need to burn fossil fuels to get it to the desired temperature you still save off your bills.  The price of fossil fuels will only go up in the next 20 years (which is around the max life of your solar panels).

Given how far north you live, don't be tempeted to buy cheaper hot water panels that are used by warm countries like spain as they lack the necessary insulation around the panels for your location.

How high a temperature that can be reached, will depend on how South facing your roof is and how many panels you can put on your roof.

If you are unable to get the water warm enough for bathing, I suggest you use passive solar heating, since you have 6 months of very good light, you could use it to raise the temperature of your house, which may be a better use.

Check out for government grants