Cheap hot water? Just add sunshine

Very neat article on easily adding a solar hot water heater to your home.

Cheap hot water? Just add sunshine

As more homeowners are discovering, you don't need a super-hot climate and tens of thousands of dollars to go solar. In many cases, all it takes to offset two-thirds of your hot-water bill is a couple of panels resembling skylights, an 80-gallon water storage tank and some shade-free southern rooftop exposure. Costs range from about $2,000 to $10,000, sums that can be halved thanks to hefty new federal and state incentives. Just last week, California launched a cash-rebate program that will average $1,500 for residents to install solar water heaters at home.

When most people think of solar energy, they imagine using it to generate electricity, and that's where a lot of buzz and venture-capital investment dollars currently go. But in the average home, harnessing the sun's free energy for daily hot-water needs can be a more practical and affordable bet. Water heating is the third-largest energy expense in most households, after space heating and air conditioning, according to the Energy Department. This year, Hawaii began mandating solar water heaters in most new homes, and cold-weather locales such as New York and Colorado are among the state leaders in installations.

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