Many people install only either solar water heaters or solar solar power systems in their homes. While this is better than not using renewable energy, it is not the best configuration you may use for maximum efficiency.
If you only have photovoltaic solar panels, the primary energy output will probably be electricity. Electricity isn't any doubt useful. It could be converted into many forms and will also be easily transmitted via a distance without significant loss. However electricity could be very inefficient when compared to another energy setups.
For example, to heat up home, if we were to collect solar energy, convert it to electricity, store it in rechargeable batteries (or pump it back to the grid), then utilize it to power heat pump at night, this entire process becomes very inefficient as compared to storing heat directly in heat storage for consumption during the night.
Since almost half of our own energy is used for heating at home, all of us should consider obtaining a solar water heater to complement photovoltaic solar panels.
Water has a high specific heat capacity. This implies it can store far more heat energy than other matter per cubic volume. This implies we do not need a lot of space (like Solar panels do) in order to harvest and store heat the sun's energy.
On top of this, water is surely an element we used in our daily lives and will be stored and handled easily.
Therefore, we can store domestic hot water in an insulated container in the daytime when the sun is shining. Through the night, we can extract its heat to warm-up our living spaces, for bathing and for washing. Hot water could also be used to warm up private pools and hot tubs. The possibilities are almost limitless.
Solar water heaters are very effective. They can harvest more energy than photovoltaic (PV) panels and so they do not cost the maximum amount of.
You monthly electricity bill can be reduced much more if you use solar water heaters for heating and Solar panels for electricity production. This is because efficiency improves. When this occurs, your payback period and total upfront investment also improves. For a few homes, the improvement is significant.
The best way to find out how this configuration will help you is to do a calculation yourself. First, you have to find out how must energy you utilize for heating. These details can be found as you perform a brief energy audit for your home.
If you find that you use lots of energy for heating, odds are having a solar hot water heater can make significant improvements for your solar energy setup.
Just thought you might be interested in reading this guide: photovoltaic solar panels and solar panel rebate.