Is solar water heating system worth installing?

[Peter69_56]

Tips when looking for SHW (Australia)

These are my thoughts, and a collection of material from a number of people from various solar forums in relation to Solar Hot Water. I wish I had all this knowledge before I bought mine as I could have prevented a number of problems and saved a lot of heartache. It has been put here to give those with little knowledge information as well as the ability to ask questions about their proposed system. Often you don't know what you don't know until it is far too late. It is not the absolute on anything, but good info which will hopefully help the novice in making a valued decision on solar hot water. Remember these thoughts are for Australia, so make the necessary adjustments if you live in USA or UK or other locations.
My Latitude is 38 degrees South

1. GET A GOOD INSTALLER

[russ]

Excellent post Peter!

Thanks,
Russ

[Peter69_56]

Excellent post Peter!

Thanks,
Russ

If we are fully informed we will make better deecisions. Bad information (or no information) leads to bad decisions. When I purchased my evacuated tube solar hot water system I had little knowledge. I was both lucky and unlucky. it was badly installed, and had a number of things to be recified, but the product was good. I was sold too smaller unit and not set for best efficiency. Now I have spent months looking at the systems, how they work etc and have a good understanding of them. I will now modify mine so I can get better performance and efficiency. Were I to do it again I would probably install the system myself and get a plumber to do the final checks and fitoff. I like things done professionally and found that in the main most tradies do NOT do this. it is unique to find a reliable and professional tradie that cares about their work. They are out there but are like diamonds, hard to find.

After I went through the process of having solar HWS fitted, with all the issues, I made a decision to spend time ensuring I tell as many people I can about the good and bad so not as many people will be caught out in the future. I can't saev the world but I can help some people. If this information helps and saves people from a bad experience then I have achieved my objective.