12-29-2005, 06:16 PM
I was looking into solar as well...
With current 3X cents a kwh any investment with solor will quickly pay for itself. Here in oregon it's only 6.5Cents per kwh, so it would take awhile to pay for itself.
Anyway, the most used appliance is your hot water heater. Really takes a hit. Even if you install a switch on your hot water heater you will see a big savings.
The real savings come in obviously with Solar. I like Passive solar. Basically get yourself a roll of coper tubing about 1.5" thick and maybe 500'. Then build a basic box to house the coper tubing and form it in a 'S' shape that loops around inside of the box. Paint the copper tubing BLACK and use a hard back 3" insulation to insulate the entire box with the reflective serface on it. Then cover the whole thing with glass ...
Your DONE! You'll have to add in a simple pump that kicks that is temp activated.
FREE HOT WATER! The only reason you would want to make it BIG is for rainy and Cloudy days. Obviously if it was too CLOUDY your not gonna get any hot water... That is where you hook up your propane on demand hot water heater in the loop!
But just think, you'll be saving 30-40% off of your electric bill by installing a passive closed loop system. Even if the power should go out you'll still have hot water... That is, if you can get a generator or electric panel to run the pump.
With current 3X cents a kwh any investment with solor will quickly pay for itself. Here in oregon it's only 6.5Cents per kwh, so it would take awhile to pay for itself.
Anyway, the most used appliance is your hot water heater. Really takes a hit. Even if you install a switch on your hot water heater you will see a big savings.
The real savings come in obviously with Solar. I like Passive solar. Basically get yourself a roll of coper tubing about 1.5" thick and maybe 500'. Then build a basic box to house the coper tubing and form it in a 'S' shape that loops around inside of the box. Paint the copper tubing BLACK and use a hard back 3" insulation to insulate the entire box with the reflective serface on it. Then cover the whole thing with glass ...
Your DONE! You'll have to add in a simple pump that kicks that is temp activated.
FREE HOT WATER! The only reason you would want to make it BIG is for rainy and Cloudy days. Obviously if it was too CLOUDY your not gonna get any hot water... That is where you hook up your propane on demand hot water heater in the loop!
But just think, you'll be saving 30-40% off of your electric bill by installing a passive closed loop system. Even if the power should go out you'll still have hot water... That is, if you can get a generator or electric panel to run the pump.