Nov 14 2008
Update on Solar Water Heater
First - had to make sure I put something up today - guess that picture from Wednesday was just a little too creepy! LOL.
So, as some of you may remember from this post I mentioned that we had a solar water heater installed. I also mentioned in that post that once we had a full month under solar I would report back on it’s efficiency - etc.
Well - proof is in the pictures right? Here is a chart that I downloaded from my energy company’s website regarding my usage from the past year:
You will notice the decrease in my Kwh beginning October. Doesn’t look so different from this past March. However, that was with only 1/2 month with the new solar panels. Now - Check out November’s numbers! You’ll see that our usage was cut almost in half compared to last year at this time - and throughout most of this year. Also, you’ll notice that usage goes up and down with the average temperature. That’s because the air conditioning is on more during the summer months. When the temps are down, we don’t need the A/C - and it only gets cold enough to turn on the heat for about 2 - 3 weeks out of the entire year.
Just what does that mean? We used 1,000 less Kwh this year than last. Last year’s bill for November was $290. This month’s bill - $180. That’s the lowest it’s been since the energy company raised the rates per Kwh because of the increased price of oil.
Hopefully, the energy company will lower those per Kwh rates given the cost of oil has significantly decreased. If that happens, I could potentially see my monthly electric bill down to under $100/month. Not bad considering before I installed these panels, my electric bill was consistently above $300/month.
So, if anyone is interested - I highly recommend you get a solar powered hot water heater. It literally pays for itself!
