Are you putting in hot air/water loops, or just PV panels?
At the house in which I grew up, we had hot air panels installed in
1978 or so that heated the water coming into the house. Not as
efficient as direct water-circulating panels, but in Harrisburg, PA,
it was enough to bring the inlet water temperature up from ~45F to
~85F during January!
Sadly, there are too many trees at my house in Reston, VA to install
solar, even if at a small scale.
-Peter
On Sun, Jun 5, 2011 at 10:25 PM, <eric at megageek.com> wrote:
> Ben writes...
>
>> It takes about an hour to replace it and the last
>>one I bought was under $300.
>
> My motivation for just replacing the unit every ten or fifteen years or so
> is that the technology to make them more efficiency is also increasing
> with each replacement. Sure, the old ones are built like tanks, but the
> new ones use a fraction of the energy. That is a net gain in my book.
>
> BTW, I'm also in the process of installing a total house solar system.
> Should be done this week. Once I gauge how well it works, I'm going to
> convert my two gas water heaters to electric (maybe.) I'd love to get rid
> of the gas systems on my outbuildings (one for the guest house and one for
> another building.)
>
> We'll see how it goes.
>
> Moose
> "Be as beneficent as the sun or the sea, but if your rights as a rational
> being are trenched on, die on the first inch of your territory." Ralph
> Waldo Emerson
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