Buying Guide to Solar Water Heaters

With tax rebates for using solar power more and more people are thinking of and planning on turning to solar power to heat their water. There are several options that you have to fit the needs of your house hold. There are some things to keep in mind when looking a the different models of solar hot water heaters. Essentially how this solar technology works is that the storage tanks of water have solar collectors that use the power of the sun to generate warm water. Below there are twelve different solar water heaters mentioned from three different companies.

The Chromagen Solar Water Heater Model CR32/66Dstorage tank holds sixty-five gallons of water and contains one 4×8 foot solar panel. It is estimated to be appropriate for a two to three person household. Its base price is around twenty-one to twenty-three hundred. It is designed for climates where freezing rarely occurs and installation is easy with an integrate pre-assembled system and all necessary components included. A step up from the previous solar water heater mentioned is the Chromagen Solar Water Heater Model CR40/82D and it has an eighty gallon storage tank. This results in it being more effective for a house of three to four people. It uses a 4×10 solar panel and its base price is around twenty-two and twenty-four hundred. Again though it is ideal for tropical and southern climates that rarely experience freezing temperatures. Installation is said to not be difficult again as well. The Chromagen Solar Water Heater Model CR64/120D is yet another option from this company. For another fourteen hundred dollars you can have this solar water heater. It has a one hundred and nineteen gallon tank and uses two 4×8 solar panels to generate energy. It is most ideal for someone who lives in a warm climate all year long, in a place where pipes freezing isn’t a concern. This Chromagen solar water heater design again results in an easy installation. Lastly you have the option of the Chromagen Solar Water Heater Model CR80/120D. For just a little bit more for the fourth option you can get this model for about thirty-seven to thirty-nine hundred dollars. It is the same size of tank, one hundred and nineteen gallons but it uses two 4×10 solar panels. It is equally easy to install and is effective for a family house hold of six to eight people. Of course the large family would have to live in an area where they didn’t have to worry about it freezing.

Another company that offer four different solar water heaters is SunEarth. The SunEarth Solar Water Heater Model EP6632 is similar in price and design of the Chromagen solar water heaters. This model comes with a sixty-six gallon storage tank and uses a 4×8 solar panel. The base price is around twenty-two hundred dollars. The size of the storage tank is good for a home with two or three people. Not unlike the Chromagen solar water heater this includes everything needed to install and it is intended for warm weathered places. Surprisingly by only adding two hundred and fifty dollars to the price you can get the SunEarth Solar Water Heater Model EP8040 that has an eighty gallon tank. This is ideal for a house hold with three or four people in it and the system uses one 4×10 solar panel. Unfortunately this solar water heater was not made for climates that have freezing weather often. However the model still provides easy installation. To get another forty gallons of water in the storage tank you can choose the SunEarth Solar Water Heater Model EP12064. This larger size is good for four, five or six person house holds. Although the price increase from the sixty gallon solar water heater is not twice as much as this model you will pay about an additional thirteen and a half hundred dollars. As a result though you will have a one hundred and twenty gallon tank and two 4×8 solar panels. The last option from SunEarth is the SunEarth Solar Water Heater Model EP12080 with yet again one hundred and twenty gallon tank. However the two solar panels that it uses are 4×10 instead of 4×8. The increase in size of the solar panels gives you a bill that is about one hundred and fifty dollars more. Like the rest of the models this is a good solar water heater for warm climates.

Unlike the eight previous solar water heaters mentioned the ProgressivTube Solar Water Heater Model PT20 works in every climate. It also doesn’t have any electric components allowing it to work even in a power outage. Its base price is just over one thousand dollars. It is a twenty gallon solar water heater, making it ideal for very small homes or house holds that do not require large amount of hot water at a time. For three hundred dollars more you can have a thirty gallon tank with the ProgressivTube Solar Water Heater Model PT30. Their PT40 and PT50 models are forty and fifty gallon solar water heaters and are about three hundred and five hundred more from the PT20 model. Again there are no electricity needed to work the solar powdered heaters and they will work well in all climate. The ProgressivTube Solar Water Heater, any model, is one of the best selling solar water heaters. If you don’t want to have a solar water heater that you can’t use in the event of a power outage I wouldn’t recommend the first eight. Nor would I recommend them if you wanted to get a solar hot water heater if you lived in an area where the climate commonly had freezing whether. While there are pros and cons to all of the solar water heaters, you have lots and lots of options.