Using solar power to heat your water is one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to harness the energy of the sun. Solar hot water systems utilize the sun's energy to power your home’s hot water needs. A standard solar thermal system will easily heat water to 140ºF or above, easily matching the range of a traditional hot water tank. Correctly designed and constructed systems can capture up to 70 percent of the sun's available energy and transfer it to your home’s energy system.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently stated, “One of the most cost-effective ways to include renewable technologies into a building is by incorporating solar hot water.”

The average household will spend over $500 heating water with purchased electricity each and every year. Our solar water heating systems yield typical savings of 75-95%, paying for themselves within five years for most customers. Since solar hot water heaters typically last 20 years, you can save thousands of dollars enjoying free hot water for years to come.

There are two types of systems, DIRECT and INDIRECT.

Direct solar water heating systems capture heat from the sun using solar panels to directly heat a water supply. These systems consist of a series of pipes filled with water that pass through a solar collection point which is connected to an insulated holding tank. As water inside the pipes is heated by the sun, it flows into the storage tank. Direct systems can be more efficient, but they require maintance to keep lines free of mineral buildup.

Indirect, or closed loop systems, use the sun’s energy to heat a loop of liquid that has a low freezing point, which in turn heats a domestic water supply. The collection system consists of multiple heating tubes that are mounted and connected to a main chamber for solar collection. Glycol (or anti-freeze) runs through the system of pipes into a central chamber that heats up via contact with copper elements at the end of each tube. As the temperature climbs, a pump is activated to move the glycol fluid through a heat exchanger in the water tank, which transfers its heat to the actual water.