YouSustain

Action - Solar Water Heater

Solar water heaters are units that can supplement or replace an existing gas or electric water heating system. Solar panels will be installed on the exterior of the house to heat the water.

"A typical solar hot water system will reduce annual energy costs by 40 to 50 percent. You can expect that a solar water heater will provide you with 1500 to 3000 kWh of energy per year, depending on your hot water usage and regional climate." - from http://www.canren.gc.ca/prod_serv/index.asp?CaId=138&PgId=1268

Known benefits and costs

Annual CO2 Savings350 - 1,500 kg
 770 - 3,300 lbs
Annual Cash Savings$105 - $450
Initial Cost$2,000 - $6,000
Time to pay for itself4.0 - 57.0 years
CO2 saved per year per initial dollar invested0.06 - 0.75 kg

* These values were taken from many sources including product documentation, published reports, and the referenced material below. The ranges are due to differences in methods of achieving this action.

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