Using a Solar Water Heater DIY Kit
One of the simplest and most effective ways to begin with solar is to use a solar water heater DIY kit. You can reduce your hot water expense by at least one-third, cut down on your fossil fuel use, and help the planet at the same time.
Recently, my 21 year old son was amazed to discover that we actually had a solar water heater DIY approach way back in the 1970′s! Little did he know that the first patent for a commercial solar water heater was granted in 1891, a few years before even I was born!
Actually, solar heated water has been in use since some caveman discovered that he could enjoy warm water from a shallow pond in the summer!
How to use a solar water heater DIY kit
You can make your own solar water heater in one of two ways. There are complete kits available that supply everything you need. The second way is to buy a kit that basically tells you how to do it. You supply the materials.
If you get the kit that supplies everything, you get everything you need, including solar panels, hoses, plumbing components, glazing, framing, etc. Basically, it is a solar water heater in a box.
When you buy the how-to kit, you learn exactly, step-by-step how to make a solar water heater. It gives you the know-how, you supply the materials. The materials are all available from your local hardware store.
Are solar water heater DIY kits safe?
A solar hot water kit is totally safe. There are practically no moving parts, and the water supply is unchanged from your gas or electric hot water. An added benefit is that you will extend the life of your present water heater because you simply will not use it as much.
The only difference between your current hot water and solar hot water is the source of the heat, which will become the free energy from the sun! This is a great savings and way to reduce your carbon footprint.
All you are essentially doing is preheating the water and plumbing it into your existing hot water heater, so there is no danger whatsoever.
Do solar hot water DIY projects work in cold climates?
The only requirement is a good southern exposure; if you have this, you can benefit from solar power. Personally, I have lived in Norway, Colorado, Wisconsin and Vermont, and there are plenty of solar applications in each of these cold climates. There are solar panels on many municipal buildings, private homes, campers, schools, and hospitals.
How expensive are the kits?
The kit that supplies everything costs quite a bit, depending on the size you buy. The price can range from $600 to $18,000. However, if you are remodeling, or building new, you will find it easier to justify, especially with the state and federal incentives available. The energy savings of 30-50% can mean a much quicker payback period than is first imagined.
The solar water heater DIY kit that provides the know-how and instructions will only cost about $30-$50. The materials to build your solar hot water heater will run another $70, so for about $100, you can actually begin to have your own solar hot water!
All you need is some determination, a weekend or two and a little cash. Even if you had to pay a friend to help you, you would still be ahead and save a lot on you power bill.
Let’s Talk About the DIY Solar Water Heater – Review
The DIY Solar Water Heater is an option to purchasing water heaters. The guide can be bought separately for a price of $27 dollars (discounted) or with the Green Living Kit for $77 along with 12 other DIY guides like DIY solar panels, wind turbine, solar generator, etc.
It is a detailed instruction to how to build your own solar heating unit and solar heating for pools . This product targets customers who seek a solution to the mounting costs of utilities at home, and who seek an affordable way to live a “green” lifestyle. The DIY guide plus the required components to build the water heater will total to less than 70 dollars. Compare that price to the water heaters sold at a thousand bucks or higher. This is an alternative to costly appliances, costly electric bills and costly energy.
First, let us take about how much you can save from using solar water heating device. Typically, a family composed of four members consumes 70 gallons of water in a day and about 3990 kw/h per year in electricity to heat water; this means almost $400 dollars each year to pay for hot water. If you switch to solar water heater, you can save $200- $300 dollars worth of electric expenses each year. You can even push it down to zero if you completely rely on the solar heating technology. Solar power is free and you will not need to pay the electric company for the energy you utilized to heat water. With the sky-rocketing prices of fuel and non-renewable sources of energy, solar power is the next best thing. Water heating systems range from $1500 to $3500 but DIY Solar Water Heater cost less than $70 and with no pricey electric bill to look forward to at the end of the month.
Two, let us talk about convenience. Conducting a DIY solar water heater will take at least a weekend to finish. No experience is necessary; all you need is to be a good follower of instructions, detailed in the DIY guide. A weekend’s worth is not that bad when you consider the money savings you can have once you’re done. You won’t even have to skimp on using a solar heating device if you craft a backup system to ensure water supply 24/7. Also, you won’t need to empty your wallet each month to pay for electricity used for water heating consumption.
DIY Solar Water Heater can compete with the other water heating technology in the market today because it is effective, affordable and environment-friendly. Do it yourself projects always require time to work and assemble the parts but a weekend’s work shouldn’t be much given the huge savings you will earn eventually. Within a month, the 70 dollars you spent can be returned. This product is an alternative for the conventional water heaters bought from stores. Those who are not confident with DIYs can give the DIY Solar Water Heater a try for 60 days and have it refunded in case satisfaction falls short.
Can Energy Efficient Appliances Really Save You Money?
You have probably seen appliances such as washers, dryers, and refrigerators that are advertised as being energy efficient. They may even have the Energy Star label. When looking closely at these appliances, you would also have noticed that the more energy efficient they are, the more they cost. This leaves you wondering if it really is worth it. Are you going to save enough in the long run to make it worth spending the extra money for the energy efficient label? This is a question that will take a little investigation on your part to answer.
The Environmental Protection Agency establishes the specifications that a product must meet to earn the Energy Star label. The product must meet energy efficiency requirements which follow some basic guidelines. The products must do everything that the normal product does as well as increase energy efficiency. The energy performance should be able to be measured and tested. The label should be visible and differentiate the product for consumers. If the product costs more than a less efficient version, the buyer should be able to recover this investment in energy efficiency through savings in a reasonable period of time. Most of these appliances that I have seen do cost more than the traditional appliances. These guidelines were put in place to try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. They also were designed to help save energy and therefore help you save money.
This brings us back to trying to decide if it really will save you money. There is no one right answer for everyone on this issue. The best answer I can come up with is it depends on how much you use that specific appliance. Obviously the newer, more efficient appliances are designed and built better than the older models. If you are washing and drying clothes everyday, it would probably benefit you to buy an energy efficient washer and dryer. Since you are using it every day, you would be saving energy every day. The savings would be made up more quickly and you would notice that your bill would be less. It still might take a couple of years to make up that savings but you were interested in a product that would save and last a long time.
Since you would be using the washer and dryer every day, they need to be made well so they won’t break down from a lot of use. If you are a single college guy who may do laundry once every two weeks, there would be no point in buying a more expensive washer and dryer. You would not be using it enough to make up the difference anyway. Plus you are not using it very much so it is going to last longer. For each appliance, you must determine how much you are going to use it to decide if you need to spend the extra money for an energy efficient model. The more use it gets, the more likely you are to need the energy efficiency.
