Hot Water by Sunshine

About six months ago, I started wondering if there was something useful I could do with all the sunshine we get here in Colorado. I knew that photovoltaic solar panels were expensive and could take a long time to pay for themselves; was there an alternative approach that would require a minimal initial investment, and had better potential for a return on that investment?

I soon discovered the Build-It-Solar website, a fantastic resource for any DIYer looking to save some money while conserving energy and reducing their environmental footprint. One of the most intriguing ideas I found there was a solar water heater, specifically Gary Reysa’s $1K water heating system. I spent several months thinking about building one, determining how big it would need to be, what materials I would need, and how much it would cost.

This summer, I finally got around to doing it. This project documents what I learned, including photos of the work in progress as well as the final result.

Everything in this document is published under the Creative Commons Attribution license; basically, you are free to do whatever you like with this, as long as you credit me.

Contents:

• Basic Principles
• Solar Collector
• Storage Tank
• Pump Controller
• Getting Results
• Material Cost