Hi,

we recently purchased our very own house and now need the hot water sorted out (from old electric gravity fed tank).

We are debating the 6star-rated instant gas heater solution (cheaper, easier to install, we have an old roof) or solar (environment friendly, more expensive, will the roof be okay?)

In terms of solar there is so many systems to choose from and I am interested to hear which ones you have installed and what you do or do not like so much about them ( brand, size, hot water) . Also IF anybody has experience with instant gas heater (good or bad), I would love to hear.

Thanks so much
Bettina

We got a solar hot water system installed by Earth Utility (one of the Sustainable Illawarra product partners). You can read about it here.

It's a split system (panels on the roof, but tank on the ground) which might be what you want if you don't think the roof can hold the weight of the water. We did it this way because crane access to our roof was restricted.

We also purchased a spilt system, but from Envirosavers. It saves a lot a weight on the roof.

What the SHW companies won't tell you is that if you are running a conventional electric tank on Off-Peak 1 (about $0.04/kWh), a new solar/electric system will not be able to provide you with enough hot water during half the year if you remain on Off-Peak 1. This is because new solar/electric tanks only boost half the tank with the electric element. When there's a bit of cloud and the water coming into the tank is really cold, only boosting half the tank leaves you with luke-warm water in the evenings when you want to have a shower.

Everyone we have talked to, including ourselves, have had to switch to Off-Peak 2 (about $0.09/kWh) which boosts much more often but is more than twice the price. During summer we can switch the booster off, but I'm not confident we'll save much money.

They don't tell you this when you sign up for solar.

We complained directly to Dux (who made the system) and their excuse was it is designed to run off constant peak power! ($0.16/kWh) That's rediculous! Whenever you see estimated savings compared with using electricity and solar, it's always compared to peak power.

It may be better if you can get a solar/gas system.

rw

Thank you all for the help.

We had an sustainability assessor in, and he said that the tall trees around the hosue will make cause problems during wintertime for getting enough sun. So that, together with price and the roof conditions, of which we are not so sure, made us decide to go with the 6 star rated instant gas Envirosaver.

It would have been too good to have solar powered hot water, but seems not suitable for us right now. So the plan is to one day get a deck and put solar panels on the tin roof that will be above the deck, and use the generated power for general use.

Thanks again!
Bettina

Just a reminder that there's a solar hot water information evening in Kiama on Friday night this week. Details are here:

Solar Hot Water Expo - Kiama

I'll be there on the Jamberoo FutureCare stall, so drop by and say "hi" if you go!