Solar water heating gets the thumbs up

On my Energy Issues page I mentioned some research that we did to find out about going off-the-grid for all our power. The challenges became so daunting (and expensive) we gave it away, however, now we are about to go solar for our water heating.

It really does pay to talk to experts because they do have some practical passive energy solutions that the average homeowner (I include myself in that group) wouldn’t think about. We had always gazed skyward and had seen our steeply sloping roof as ideal for panels. Panel dimensions, however, turned out to be too large for the space where we planned. They would have to go across part of the upper windows (see photo) to get the optimum slope.

The installer we talked to suggested that the panel(s) be positioned in front of our deck (the deck on the right not in the picture) . The panel would be unseen when we were on our deck or from inside; the installation would not compromise the integrity of our roof; and being a retro-install we would not have to cut into walls to link up to the current position of the water heater.

We will have to move a few plants – a couple that will now be behind the panel, and one that will cast a shadow over the panel. Having a house built at the top of a slope has helped because we will not be built out or have trees in lower properties grow too tall.

So now we’re preparing the site. We won’t be able to do a straight comparison of costs as we generally turn off the water heater unless we have guests. Instead we use a system of gas water heating. The installer’s proposal is that we will have a dual system. When solar energy is low and the water temperature drops we will be able to switch back to gas heating, and vice versa.

I think it’s natural to think that solar panels have to be placed on the roof. It always seems to be the place nearest the sun. We have since researched a number of ways they can be positioned if the house roof is not ideal. They can be placed behind the house, raised above sheds, or placed on fences. In fact YouTube has a great selection of systems to copy.

If you’re really interested in doing some of the process yourself take a look at these YouTube videos –

• Panels mounted on a wooden frame.
• Panels on a fence using shelf brackets.
• A Cape Town guy measures and compares Monocrystalline vs Polycrystalline: Effect of temperature on output performance / power over several videos.

By Heather Sylvawood, author of Real Estate Rollercoaster – what the professionals forget to tell you about buying, building and selling real estate.

The true cost of energy

I recently stumbled across an article from Inhabitat about a German village that produces so much electrical energy that it makes about 5.6million euros profit for the villagers each year. I was so inspired that I have been thinking how my locality (population 4,500) could replicate that energy success.

Already many individual households are installing solar water heating and solar power panels for running their other electrical systems. (Take a look at the Little Greenie website) In a few months we have plans to go that route too – can’t wait. Even though the installation cost will take several years to pay off if you simply compare cost dollars to savings on power charges, the thing that excites me is we will be reducing the demand on coal and gas generation*.

One household installing solar panels doesn’t have much of an effect, however when you reach hundreds or thousands of houses with alternative power systems the impact becomes enormous. If there would be one inspiring dream I would have, it would be to turn out lovely Golden Bay into an energy-neutral location.

Of course, as quickly as these passive energy options are installed the faster we increase our power consumption by installing and using new technologies – automatic appliances and computer technology – that we forget to turn off at night. Appliances left on stand-by use up an unbelievable amount of power over a year. Take a look at Standby Power or EECA Energywise websites. But that’s for some more research!

*Note: In New Zealand we do not have nuclear power generation. By far the largest amount of electricity is generated by hydro-generation plants. But even these have an impact on the local environment through flooding of valleys to create dams and the interruption of natural habitats for native fish and plants.

By Heather Sylvawood, author of Real Estate Rollercoaster.