A New Glow

Those who sought to mainstream solar energy in the residential sector have grappled with an image problem for years: The clichés of geodesic domes, hippies and granola shadowed the industry like a heavy cloud. Things have changed, however. Large federal incentives for renewable-energy sources brought solar energy to the forefront in commercial and government applications. As modern solar-energy-generating systems become more commonly recognized, it is clear that today's applications are sleeker and less visually obtrusive than those of decades past. Rising energy prices and offsetting tons of carbon dioxide each year prompted corporate entities and private citizens to find their place in the sun.

"People who want to make a statement are the early adopters, but as fuel prices increase, interest in renewable energy rises—and fuel prices are inching up again," explains Rex Gillespie, director of marketing at Milwaukee-based Caleffi, makers of solar water heating, or SWH, systems. "When the economy slowed, traditional plumbing, mechanical and heating contractors looked to other business offerings for their existing customer base and saw solar as the new marketing opportunity."

Still, challenges remained. Contractors ready to enter the market and meet the residential customer demand had to piecemeal systems together. A contractor had to examine all the variables, calculate the system's size, purchase the numerous components and figure out how to install the system. The complexity and installation time prevented a lot of remodelers from approaching the task. A desire to broaden the market inspired manufacturers to create pre-engineered, turnkey solutions.

"The prepackaged systems are the easiest way for residential contractors to get into the solar market without specialized knowledge, and they can provide customers with a product in one-half to one-third the installation time of traditional systems," says Bob Giles, chief executive officer of Redwood City, Calif.-based Ready Solar.

According to Giles, a traditional photovoltaic energy system for a residence used to take three people three days to install. With much of the pre-assembly completed before these new turnkey systems are shipped, three people can have a solar-electric system up and running in one day.

The same is true for SWH systems. Jeff Wedge, vice president of sales and marketing at FAFCO, Chico, Calif., notes that some of the systems now being manufactured are compact and uncomplicated. "These systems are made for high-volume installation. They're small and lightweight, so they move from the factory to dealer to consumer in a fraction of the time. They can put remodelers in the solar-thermal business overnight to help them save their customers money."

Cost and Efficiency

In fact, Wedge purports SWH systems represent a grossly underappreciated market that allows homeowners to save a significant percentage of the energy costs to heat hot water—the second largest utility cost for homeowners. "As with any system that relies on sunlight, solar-thermal systems perform best in the sunniest seasons but can provide savings nearly all year," Wedge says.

There are several SWH models on the market. Most of the newer turnkey solutions are flat-plate panels that use the sun's energy to heat tubes filled with a combination of water and U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved glycol that prevents the fluid from freezing in extreme temperatures. The contained glycol loop transfers heat to the potable water in the storage tank, but the solar loop remains independently closed off so the fluids never mix with the potable water.

The efficiency of a solar thermal system can be as high as 75 percent, but it is usually less in winter months. On average, most SWH systems displace at least 50 percent of the energy required to heat water in a home.