Your estimate of $8000 is pretty good. I installed a solar thermal system back in 2010. My house is grid connected and we have used the small electrical heater inside the 80 gal tank during days of rain yet I have seen about $100 per month savings on my electric bill. Depending on how many people live in the house and the length of hot showers (teenagers like to go 30 min or more . LOL) The payback will be more or less.
As for maintenance. Since I live in Florida I do not have to worry about draining the panel to keep it from freezing since it has a control that will pump hot water back into the panel during a cold night. The only other thing I need to do is drain and flush the system about twice a year since we have hard water. Other than that the system does not need much.
I certainly recommend it to anyone that uses hot water that has an all electric water heater. It will pay for itself.
As for maintenance. Since I live in Florida I do not have to worry about draining the panel to keep it from freezing since it has a control that will pump hot water back into the panel during a cold night. The only other thing I need to do is drain and flush the system about twice a year since we have hard water. Other than that the system does not need much.
I certainly recommend it to anyone that uses hot water that has an all electric water heater. It will pay for itself.
Comment