I love alternate energy and have been touting self sufficiency to anyone that would listen for the last 30 years, even before it was chic to be green. I want something that was simple, effective, easy to install and use, trouble free plus it can’t cost a lot. I am not a multi millionaire buying $75,000 worth of solar panels to look good. I also believe in use less, need less and waste less.
I want to comment on solar hot water heaters. I have gone to home visits and seen product demostrations. I have read extensive articles on the latest solar water heaters where they got a small one installed for $6,800 (bigger would have cost twice the amount). The installers took three days to get all the plumbing put in, filling up one whole wall of the basement. After this was all done I was told that it would heat water best during the five hottest months of the summer and only if it was sunny out. The rest of the year not much. On cloudy, rainy and cold days you have to buy a plan “B” system also. If the system developed a problem could the wife figure it out and fix the problem if the husband was away? How many parts and pipes are prone to leaks and mishaps years down the line? What is the payback period? It seemed tedious and expensive.
I started doing research on alternatives. Tank water heaters are old fashioned and obsolete, heating water 24 hours a day whether you are needing it or not. The USA is so far behind! Why do we put them in? Because everyone else puts them in. The cities says we have to get better efficiency in our houses, then has the permit division practice saying no to alternative ingenuity.
I want to comment on solar hot water heaters. I have gone to home visits and seen product demostrations. I have read extensive articles on the latest solar water heaters where they got a small one installed for $6,800 (bigger would have cost twice the amount). The installers took three days to get all the plumbing put in, filling up one whole wall of the basement. After this was all done I was told that it would heat water best during the five hottest months of the summer and only if it was sunny out. The rest of the year not much. On cloudy, rainy and cold days you have to buy a plan “B” system also. If the system developed a problem could the wife figure it out and fix the problem if the husband was away? How many parts and pipes are prone to leaks and mishaps years down the line? What is the payback period? It seemed tedious and expensive.
I started doing research on alternatives. Tank water heaters are old fashioned and obsolete, heating water 24 hours a day whether you are needing it or not. The USA is so far behind! Why do we put them in? Because everyone else puts them in. The cities says we have to get better efficiency in our houses, then has the permit division practice saying no to alternative ingenuity.
In traveling I saw people in many countries using tankless hot water heaters. If you don’t turn them on they use zero energy. If you take a 6 minute shower and 5 minutes to wash your dishes that is all it is on all day. Amazing. I excitedly came home and went to the big box home stores and found some of these water heaters. I asked the clerk who “didn’t know nothing” but pointed to wording on the box. I can do that myself. I asked how many they sold? He didn’t know of any. The price was $985. It also required a fan that stayed on and had to be connected to an electric line This was not going to be my answer.
I found some on eBay, ordered one and had problems from the start. They were cheap and weren’t built very well. It took 6 months to get my money back. In frustration I decided to create my own hot water heater and get them built with many nice features. I looked at many tankless hot water heaters. Many were whole house, big volume water heaters. I saw them as being wasteful, costing you more money than necessary by needing to heat a much bigger water supply and push it 50 feet away in the house AND be able to do 3 showers and dishes at the same time. I see that as wasteful and dumb. Why not do one hot water event at a time? Why not put a smaller, cheaper hot water heater by where it is needed for less wasted cold water waiting for the hot? If your water needs are spread apart install two heaters. In the future I hope builders will keep water end use closer together.
I use and highly recommend a low flow high pressure shower head ($20? EBay) and use under 2 gallons of water for a nice hot shower. One day you will be charged for water by the gallon going in and going out. It might be good to practice cutting the waste now. You don’t need a huge amount of hot water.
I created a $250 6L unit that is good for a bathroom or kitchen unless it is in a really cold place with really cold incoming water. The less it has to heat the water the more flow. I also made a 8L ($279) and a heavy duty 12L ($399) which people really seem to like.
The units take about an hour to install; cut a vent pipe hole, attach the heater to the wall, connect the vent pipe, connect cold water in, hot water out. Our units can run off two D batteries or AC connection so you don’t need an electrical connection. No fan needed. Simple to operate. Lasts for years with no problems. Turn on the faucet and you have endless hot water. You can take 20 showers right after each other which is why it is a money saver at summer camps. These units can save about $25 a month in hot water costs giving them a payback in less than a year. I have a motorhome and instead of using my precious propane to heat the water for 15 minutes for my morning shower I just turn on my tankless water heater for a 5 minute shower anytime without waiting which is great coming back from a sweaty hike. Also no driving around with a lit pilot light.
I don’t recommend these heaters for endless on uses like filling a big wasteful garden bathtub, Jacuzzi or for radiant flooring, especially when starting from a dead cold start - it’s just not made for that. It works perfect for instant on, do the job, and shuts off completely.
We also harvest rainwater into big 550 gallon ($350) black tanks, run the water through a three stage filter ($85) then into the hot water heater for free water too. We love getting all our bills to as close to zero as possible. You can too!
Want more information and lots of pictures? Go to http://www.cozyhotwater.com/
or our main information website http://www.aceguru.com/.
No comments:
Post a Comment