Solar Water Heater System: Why You Should Build Your Own!

In today’s world, investing in a solar water heater system may be one of the greatest energy efficient investments that you can make - that is, if you want to go solar. Currently the pricing for solar hot water systems can be expensive, so you will save more money on your gas or electric bill (as much as 33%) if you choose to build a solar panel yourself instead of buying one that is already built with an expensive price tag on it.

Home Made Solar Panel

What are the benefits?

One of the major benefits to building your own heater is the free energy source it receives, being fueling from the sun. The sun has been made freely available for an incredible number of years for anybody (including the plants and trees) to use and consume. As you may already know, heat comes naturally from the sun. When the sun shines down on anything, the object will absorb heat from the sun.

If you don’t believe me, put a bowl of water outside for a minute (on a warm and sunny day), and see the effects that the sun will have on the water. Just like that bowl of water, a solar water heater system has been designed to allow sunlight to heat the water while at the same time allowing as little heat as possible to escape. Because of this, a solar heater can work efficiently even when outside temperatures are freezing.

There are a variety of ways that you can build a solar heater, and the easiest option to make may be a batch water heater. These types of heaters are made by the same materials that you can buy at a hardware store in your local neighborhood (i.e. Home Depot). With the batch designs, you can design a do-it-yourself heater that is created based upon the specifications and needs that you desire for your household.

With a batch heater, it uses a water tank that can heat up your home using the solar energy from the sun. The water tank should be connected to the plumbing system that is located in your house, just so you know. However, you may have to be creative, as you want to maximize the potential for your water to be heated by the sun.

To maximize the benefits of the solar water heater system for your home, you will want to paint your water tank in a black-matte color, since we all know that black absorbs light (and heat) better than any other color out there. The black paint will prove useful, as it allows the water tank to absorb and hold all the heat that is available. If you want insulation, you may want to encase your batch heater in a glass box, since it will help to hold the heat inside of your household.

At the same time, however, if you are located in a cold place, the batch water heater is probably not the best pick for you. If the temperatures around you are normally below freezing, I would recommend that you not invest in a water batch system, and the reason I say this is because the constant cold air can make your water batch break apart.

Since I recommend you not build a batch heater, I’d recommend that you learn how to build a closed loop solar water heater system, as your water will be constantly moving, which means that it will not have a chance to freeze over and destroy your tank. Unfortunately, it may take you a longer time to build a closed system, and you will have to exercise a higher level of plumbing expertise if you choose to build this type of system.

Last but not least, the greatest thing about these kinds of systems is that they will greatly reduce your electricity bills, and you can rest easily knowing that you are not destroying the environment now that you have gone green. The average price for building a do-it-yourself solar heater will be around $100-$300 (depending on your specifications), and it costs less than $50 a month to manage. This means that it may take only a month (or so) before you start seeing a return on the money that you have paid to built your project, instead of having to wait years when it comes to “standard” utility bill actually benefiting you.

Solar energy is becoming more attractive as people are “going green” and cutting down the costs of their electricity bills. If you don’t mind paying 33% less on your utility bills each month, building your own Solar Water Heater System will save you more money while cutting down on your expenses, so wait no longer and get your DIY guide today!