Don't Count Out Solar Water Heating, It's a $123 Billion Dollar Market

[kristopher]

Don't Count Out Solar Water Heating, It's a $123 Billion Dollar Market
By Chris Williams
February 7, 2012

According to a new SEPA (Solar Electric Power Association - k) report titled “Heating Up: The Impact of Third Party Business Models on the US Market for Solar Water and Space Heating,” Sixteen percent of the 110 million U.S. households are suitable for solar thermal systems, also referred to as solar domestic hot water systems. The report states that at given market conditions, the technology is not attractive for natural gas customers but is favorable in 72 utility areas around the country at an installed cost of $7,000 before incentives. This represents a $123 billion dollar market.

With all the focus on the development of the solar PV industry, many have forgotten that solar thermal has huge growth potential.

However, simply because the raw economics of the technology work for so many Americans does not mean that it will be magically adopted. The solar thermal industry, and the private companies supplying equipment and installing projects, will need to determine the best way to organize manpower and assets to deploy this technology.

My goal is to help solar thermal installers and policy makers understand how the solar thermal industry has progressed and help uncover ways to drive further growth.

If it's a $123 billion opportunity...

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/02/dont-count-out-solar-water-heating-its-a-123-billion-market?cmpid=SolarNL-Thursday-February9-2012

[msongs]

1. hmm my gas bill to heat water is about $4/month, so at $7000 to install solar water heater I

would need 1750 months, or 145 years to recoup my costs lol. of course gas bills may go up in the next 145 years or so.

[marybourg]

2. My cost after incentives was

$800 and since I have an "all electric" home the savings are considerable ( but I don't know what they are since my prior hot water heater was solar also. It was 29 years old & still working fine, but with the incentives available, I wanted a new one.

[kristopher]

3. Then you obviously are not part of the market being discussed.

[Nihil]

4. It works a treat for me ...

Still snow on the ground outside (on Saturday) but the pump for the
solar hot water was working away (~30%) so the water stayed lovely
and warm without needing to fire up the gas boiler needing the washing
machine to heat the water using its own electric element.

[FedUpwithcalls]

5. Moon power

My vote is for "moon power". Anchor large floating platforms (+/-1 mile square) to the sea floor by large chains. As the tides move these massive platforms up, and as gravity makes them fall, the chains turn a (geared) generator thereby generating electricity. Its free and could be used off the shore of large cities. As a side benefit, you could put pedestrian parks, driving ranges, etc. on them increasing real estate footprint (though you probably would not want to put a large number of buildings or any highrises on it).

[One_Life_To_Give]

6. Without longterm service capability/assurance it's a fraction of potential

Solar hot water systems have been a bit of a puzzle. They seem to disappear almost as fast as they appear. Which is most shocking since the expense is front-end loaded. Once installed there should of been very little incentive not to maintain it.

One suspect reason for the above is service on the system. Contractors other than the original equipment installer are unwilling to work on someone else's equipment. What is the point of having a system with a 30 life if you can't get it serviced/maintained after 3yrs? When the hotwater heater fails will the homeowner be able to expect return to service within 24hrs?

The bigger challenge may be to get the businesses that already provide these other services, to start adding solar Inst/Maint to their business plans.

[kristopher]

7. Interesting observation

It would also be possible in most states to get qualifications for working on them added to training and licensing requirements for plumbing and havc programs.

Just to put the OP into a broader perspective, it would take more than 40 nuclear plants to provide the amount of hot water China gets from solar water heater, and worldwide the number jumps to about 150. And now that China is mass producing a standardized vacuum tube design I expect those numbers to increase dramatically. We might be slow on the uptake, but not everyone is.

[Nihil]

8. "Just to put the OP into a broader perspective"

> Just to put the OP into a broader perspective, it would take more than 40 nuclear
> plants to provide the amount of hot water China gets from solar water heater,
> and worldwide the number jumps to about 150.

Care to estimate how many wind turbines it would take to provide "the amount
of hot water China gets from solar water heater"?




> We might be slow on the uptake, but not everyone is.

So true.

[Kolesar]

9. I wish I was doing so well that I could turn away business...eom