Going solar

Hot water systems can be both Greenhouse gas intensive and costly to run. It’s time to think about the environment – and your wallet – and consider “going solar”.

Hot water systems in general are the largest users of energy in most Australian homes, consuming around 40% of all energy used. Solar hot water systems on the other hand are Greenhouse gas friendly and inexpensive to run.

What are the benefits of solar hot water?
Environmental benefits
Replacing an electric water heater with a solar hot water system like Rinnai’s Gas Boosted Solar System can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 3.8 tonnes per year.

Running costs
Using solar energy to heat your water can reduce your energy bill by more than half compared to a gas storage system and up to 5 times less against an electric storage system.

What happens when the sun goes down?
Most solar hot water systems are fitted with either a gas or an electric booster. This booster is simply a backstop to make sure you always have hot water available, such as during cloudy or rainy weather or during the winter months. It also operates should the household exhaust the stored water on those occasions when an extra family member stays for a weekend! In both cases, the booster only operates if the sun hasn’t done its work.

What size system do you need?
The number of users in any installation is extremely important as it directly affects the size of unit that is required. Nobody likes a cold shower so it is vital that any system is correctly sized for any application.

Gas & electric boosted solar systems are sized differently:
Gas Boosted Solar
• Sizing parameter – number of bedrooms in the home.
• The storage cylinder capacity determines the available solar heated hot water.
• Gas booster is always available as backup; therefore hot water will never run out.
• Undersized system could mean the system is relying on the gas booster more often – increasing running costs.
• Insufficient solar panels would also reduce the solar gain causing reliance on the gas booster.

Electric Boosted Solar
• Sizing parameter – number of bedrooms in the home.
• The storage cylinder capacity determines the amount of hot water available regardless of whether solar generated or electric boosted.
• Hot water can run out if not correctly sized.
• Choice of electricity tariff affects availability of re-heated water:
– Normal (Peak) tariff continually re-heats.
– Off-peak will generally not re-heat until overnight.

What rebates are available?
In addition to the existing financial and environmental benefits, the government offers a number of incentive programs to encourage people to make the switch to solar hot water. There are many and varied rebates available at all government levels – Federal, State and even some local councils. Keeping up with these is often confusing, so Rinnai has produced an easy online rebate estimator that is based on the postcode of the installation. Go to www.rinnai.com.au and answer- a few simple questionsestimate how much you could receive.

Current solar hot water system rebates include:
• The Australian Greenhouse Office awards Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) according to how much energy each solar system saves compared with a conventional electric water heater. A typical gas boosted system is awarded around 40 RECs and if a REC was valued at (say) $40, the rebate would be around $1,600. For further information visit www.orer.gov.au

• The Federal Government is also offering a $1,000 rebate to switch from an electric system to either a gas or electric boosted solar system. For further information visit www.environment.gov.au/rebates

• Many State Governments offer additional incentives – most for switching from electric to gas boosted solar:

NSW State Government is offering a $300 rebate to switch from an electric system to solar www.environment.nsw.gov.au/rebates

VIC State Government is offering up to $1500 rebate to switch from an electric system to solar gas and $800 to solar electric. They also offer an incentive of up to $1500 for switching an old gas hot water system to solar gas. www.sustainability.vic.gov.au

QLD State Government is offering a $600 rebate to switch from an electric system to solar. $1000 for concession card holders. http://brightthing.energy.qld.gov.au/solar-hot-water-rebate.html

SA State Government is offering a $500 rebate to switch from an electric system to Solar. Additional rebates available for concession card holders. http://energy.sa.gov.au/rebates_and_grants

WA State Government is offering a $500 rebate to switch from an electric system to solar natural gas and $700 to Solar LPG. http://www.clean.energy.wa.gov.au/
It’s best to double check these sites prior to purchase to make sure nothing has changed.