Solar water heaters are the natural choice for homeowners in the lookout for a cost-effective way to heat water along with saving money. Water heaters are high on demand, but the conventional systems can be a huge money sink, creating a hole in your pockets. It accounts for 30% to 50% of the energy bills each month. Solar water heaters can reduce the energy bill considerably. The surprising factor is that solar heaters work in any climate making it an intelligent choice.

Solar heaters last many years with minimum maintenance required giving great confidence to homeowners as they keep paying for themselves once installed. Though they promise to save you money, the initial installation cost is a considerable amount that you will have to shell out.The ultimate cost factor

The popularity of solar water heaters is shown in their price too. It varies from country to country. 30% o the cost can be recovered by government rebates, estimating a saving of average electricity costs with a payback period. The energy savings will depend on the local energy costs and building a system needs both solar collectors and storage tanks.

Storage tanks have to be well insulated with inlet and outlet connections to and from the collector. A two-tank system of the solar heater is used to preheat water before the water passes through conventional water heaters.

The solar water heater comes in two varieties: active and passive. Active water heaters come with circulating controls and pumps, while passive does not. Inactive systems itself, they come in direct and indirect circulation systems.

The direct circulation system has pumps circulating water through a solar collector and finally into the house. This type is best for climates that do not have freezing temperatures. The indirect circulation system has pumps that circulate heat transferring nonfreezing fluid through the solar collector and heat exchanger, heating the water as it flows into the house. The indirect circulation system works best for climates where temperatures drop to or below the freezing point.

Though there are two types of passive solar water heaters, they are cheaper to build but less efficient too. the lone advantage is that they last longer than active systems. The passive system working best for temperatures that fall below freezing point while the household needs hot water is called integral collector storage systems.

Thermosyphon Systems

Another type of passive system is known as the thermosyphon system. In this type of heater, the solar collector tank is installed below the storage tank. This allows the heated water to rise passively. Generally, more expensive, than the integral collector system, the only concern is about supporting the weight of the higher storage tank.