Solar Hot Water

No matter where you live, a solar system can reduce energy costs and provide a reliable supply of domestic hot water

With rising energy prices, taking advantage of the sun's radiant energy to warm water for household use is an idea whose time has come—again. Fine Homebuilding contributing editor Scott Gibson takes a look at the latest systems for solar hot water, including simple, relatively inexpensive passive systems; passive thermosiphoning systems that rely on convection; active systems that reduce heat loss; and finally, indirect systems, which are the most efficient and most expensive. The article includes sidebars about system costs and resources for solar information.