A big chunk of your utility bill comes from your hot water usage. With this simple DIY solar hot water system, you can greatly reduce or even eliminate your costs for hot water.
This is my favorite DIY solar project that we have had much success with. Since installing this hybrid system at my own home, we have only paid an average of $3/month to the grid for hot water! The payback time for this system is much quicker than most solar projects.
This is a simple PV direct system that requires no batteries, charge controllers, inverters, etc. It also requires no pumps, piping, or plumbing, making it extremely easy to install.
While some folks are okay with connecting the solar directly to the water tank, I have found that the hot water controller is necessary to maximize production and prevent thermostat arcing. You will get a lot more heat for your investment with the controller!
This simple PV Direct system provides you with solar hybrid hot water. Solar energy runs to the controller, which provides MPPT and prevents arcing for your thermostat. The controller is wired directly to the lower part of the heat tank which acts as a heat storage battery.
You can use the heat produced by the PV Direct system for all of your hot water, and only rely on the grid when your usage exceeds what your solar is producing. If you’ve never done a solar DIY project before, this is a great place to start!
Through six of the last eight U.S. recessions, gold outperformed the S&P 500 by an…
On the surface, gardening is one of the original self-sustainability practices. The very nature of…
Prepping is often seen as a solitary activity. It is stereotypically depicted as overly skittish…
Planning for emergencies, like natural disasters, can be difficult, especially when you have children. You…
As a student, you're living away from home for the first time and you're having…
When disaster strikes or there’s an emergency in your community, chances are the garbage man…