My father built a solar house in the 70’s. At the time PV panels were not an option but using solar for the heating of water for preheating was. I was young when he was building his house but I have vivid memories of installing 20 4′x8′ copper panels on the roof and building plexi-glass containers around them to focus the heat on water pumped to them from the basement. In the basement were 4 1200 gallon fiber-glass tanks that acted as heat exchangers. Hot water from the panels came off the roof and heated water in the tanks which in turn preheated water for the radiant heat and domestic hot water. It was really a very impressive system and I remember on day it being 10 above zero, after having been like that for a couple days and my father being so happy because the preheated water coming to the water heater was at 103 degrees. In the end I don’t know how much money he saved in heating the water but I think his project instilled in me a sense that we all should participate in using the energy that is all around us to take care of our heating and electrical needs.

The solar heating system my father built was probably not cost effective but today to do what he did would be far less expensive and more efficient. Pre-heating water is a great way to save on heating costs and if you use PV panels to produce your electricity than you will rarely need an exterior input from the grid.

Think about where your energy comes from.