Solar Thermal Installations for Homes

Solar Thermal is buzzing in the Going Green community because Solar Thermal cash rebates are now available for homeowners! The single-family program offers homeowners cash rebates of up to $1,875 on the installation of qualifying solar water heating systems.

A solar thermal system is designed to work as a solar pre-heat for a conventional gas system. The solar collector absorbs heat from sunlight and sends the heated water into a separate storage tank. Sensors determine if the water need additional heating before entering the hot water system in the building. Solar pre-heating reduces the amount of natural gas needed to heat water by increasing the temperature of water entering the conventional storage tank and heating system. For example, solar pre-heated water may enter the storage tank at 90°F and thus need to be heated by 30° before leaving the hot water tank. A conventional system receives water at 60° and requires the amount of energy necessary to raise the temperature to 120°. In this example, the solar preheat reduces the amount of energy needed by one half.

Photo Gallery of Home Solar Thermal Installations