While solar hot water is fast becoming a mainstream alternative-energy technology around the world, for many homeowners the workings of a system are still unclear…
Perhaps you remember the first systems installed in the 70s, or liken solar hot water to images of portable camping showers. But the truth is that the sophisticated systems of today can accommodate the most modern of homes. They can tie in not only with your existing hot water tank to supplement your domestic hot water supply but can work alongside in-demand heating, space heating, floor heating and be used to heat pools and hot tubs. In the last year and a half in BC, we’ve seen 315 systems installed on homes as well as systems on numerous municipal buildings, schools and commercial businesses.
Solar hot water systems have come a long way in recent years and if you’re looking for ideas to improve the value of your home and the quality of your way of life, consider the advantages of a solar hot water system. Currently your hot water heater is the second biggest user of energy in your home (next to heating). With a solar hot water system you can look at a 60 per cent energy savings a year, cutting down your carbon footprint and your hydro bills at the same time.
"Since we installed our solar hot water system, our BC Hydro bills for April and May are already 50% less than they were during the same time last year," says SolarBC Project Manager Liz Kelly, whose Enerworks system was installed in February this year.
However, there still seems to be a misunderstanding that solar hot water heating is only beneficial if you live in a warm climate but this isn’t the case. Solar hot water heating can be a viable option for any family in any location of BC because solar panels don’t operate by heat, they operate by the collection light. And as long as there’s light your solar hot water system will be collecting energy. If you live in Okanagan, there will be more light collection opportunity, but any place in the province receives more than enough light – BC actually beats out world leaders of solar hot water installations like Germany and China in terms of annual sunshine.
"We spent our summer vacation on Salt Spring with up to ten teenagers, so you can imagine how thankful we were to have lots of hot water," says SolarBC customer Gillian Arsenault, MD. "Every bit of it heated solely by the sunshine. The electrical hot water heating backup was never needed or turned on."
Another source of confusion regarding how systems work is the idea that the sun is directly heating the water, so people assume that no sun means no hot water. This isn’t true, since there will be hot water stored for use regardless of the weather. Your solar hot water tank, which goes in alongside your existing tank, acts as the primary heating source while your existing tank becomes a back up.
"It’s minus 25 out and we’re bringing in 150 degree water!" said Gary Stuart, Facility Manager with the City of Quesnel’s Recreation Centre, in March last year. The centre installed a solar hot water system for their pool and workout facilities and Stuart says he's amazed at the temperature of water they can generate during cold winter days.
Solar hot water works in all seasons but with the incentives available there’s no better time than right now to get those panels up and start reaping the rewards of the free energy provided by the summer sun. For more info please visit our Incentives and Costs page.