Here in Delhi, average October daytime temperatures are 34 C, or 93 F, and average solar intensities peak around 650 W/m2 midday. I personally lack any desire for a hot shower on days like these, and the black water tanks on our roof are essentially solar thermal heaters on their own. Still, the use of electric water heaters or gas-powered heating tanks in Delhi and cities all around the world are consuming large amounts of energy, energy easily and efficiently provided by the sun.
All of which makes the recent announcement from the Delhi government very appropriate and exciting! Solar water heating systems are now mandatory for all hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, and commercial buildings. Existing regulation has already mandated solar water heating systems for government buildings and residential buildings on an property of 500 square metres or more.
Each 1,000 residential systems (of 100 L per day capacity) is expected to reduce peak electricity demand by 1 MW, a significant figure for a city whose energy demand is constantly increasing. When all city hospitals and hotels install solar water heating systems, the Power Department expects to reduce demand by 200 MW!
While the government has already installed systems totaling 25,000 Litres per day capacity in 3 city hospitals, and attempted to encourage further installation through soft loans, rebates, and other incentives, solar water heaters have not yet taken off in Delhi as they have in some other Indian and international cities.
India, and New Delhi today, are following in the footsteps of many other cities and nations that have made solar water heating mandatory. But why hasn’t it taken off on its own?
Certainly, the upfront cost of installation is a major barrier, though the systems do make up the savings in 2 – 5 years. So is it a lack of education regarding long-term savings? Fear of cloudy days without warm water? Or simply a lack of access to solar thermal providers?
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNES) here in India has presented a model regulation and building by-law that could easily be adopted by any city government, and has been by several, including Chandigarh and Pune. MNES is offering 500,000 to 1,000,000 Rupees (roughly 12,500 to 25,000 USD) to city governments that implement these by-laws, in order to fund outreach, pilot projects and tours, and educational materials for developers.
These incentives are all in the hopes of having as much success as some international cities and nations in encouraging widespread solar water heating adoption.
Barcelona, Spain implemented a Solar Thermal Ordinance (STO) in 2000, becoming the first city in Europe to require solar water heating in all new buildings and buildings changing use. In Barcelona, the STO mandates that solar thermal technology meet 60 percent of hot water needs. The ordinance has created a 20-fold increase in the coverage area of solar thermal systems in just five years and saved more than 25,000 MWhrs per year. 26 other municipalities across Spain, and many more across Europe, have adopted similar STOs after seeing Barcelona’s success.
An even more incredible model is that of Rizhao, a city of 3 million in Northern China’s Shandong peninsula. While Rizhao’s average income is well-below national averages, it has one of the highest percentage adoption of solar water heaters in the world, with 99 percent of households in urban areas and 30 percent of households in surrounding villages using solar water heaters. Photovoltaic systems power all of Rizhao’s street lights, traffic signals and park lighting, and solar cookers are used in 6,000 households in surrounding areas. 60,000 greenhouses in the area are heated with solar thermal systems as well.
This was all possible because the Shandong regional government made the choice to subsidize local research and development of solar systems rather than subsidizing the cost of existing models. Through this governmental research support, local researchers were able to increase the efficiency and simplicity of the systems, while bringing the upfront cost of solar thermal systems down to the same level as an electric system (roughly $190, 4-5 percent of an urban family’s annual income and 8-10 percent of a rural family’s income). Since families can save up to $120 in electricity costs annually with solar thermal systems, adoption then just took some innovative outreach.
Rizhao held free educational seminars and produced significant public advertising, while also installing solar water heating systems on public buildings and the homes of prominent city officials. In all projects, the Rizhao government supervised installation to ensure that homeowners could use the systems with minimal usage problems or maintenance.
Annually, through its solar water heating, Rizhao has reduced CO2 emissions by 52,860 tonnes. Additionally, air quality in the city has remained high, with Rizhao being consistently one of the top ten cities in China for air quality. Foreign investors are citing environmental quality as a main reason they are investing in Rizhao, while Peking University and other universities have chosen to site campuses in Rizhao for the same reason. Tourism rates are increasing rapidly as well, demonstrating that economic, social, and environmental goals can be met through solar thermal development.
Similar incentives for solar water heating should be adopted in American cities as well. Even with a 30 percent federal tax credit on new solar systems with at least 50 percent of energy used to heat water coming from the sun (up to $2,000 for residential systems and unlimited credit for commercial applications), solar water heating is slow to take off in the United States.
Just last week, California enacted the Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act to sweeten the deal, with cash incentives of $1,500 for residential systems and up to $75,000 for commercial systems. The $250 million provided to the program from taxes on gas and utilities is predicted to help install more than 200,000 systems in California. Yet all of this is to encourage the installation of a system that can – some calculations show – reduce fuel consumption for water heating by 75 percent, saving the average household $750 a year with current gas prices.
In some countries, the economics are actually creating market demand on their own, with 90 percent of homes in Israel having solar water heating systems (after it was made mandatory in new construction in the 1980s), while 30 million homes in China also have the systems, with growth of solar water heating in China growing 15 to 20 percent annually (due to technology improvements, incentives, and energy pricing).
In India, as of 2005, over one million square metres of solar water heating systems have been installed (and that doesn’t include the generic storage tanks on top of my apartment). However, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources has calculated that the total potential is more than 140 million square metres. Similar numbers are seen worldwide. Solar water heating provides an efficient use of solar radiation and can massively reduce energy demand, yet bridging this gap will take innovative strategies and actual enforcement of new regulation.
Or maybe — if it keeps on heating up in here, we’ll all be in the market for some more cold showers…
For an amazing history of solar water heating worldwide, visit the California Solar Center’s documentation.
Sounds very interesting. Certainly China and India have high energy demand growth which makes these innovations more attractive and Israel’s security concerns would make use of solar a logical choice. In the US, it might be harder to convince someone to invest with a 5-year payback if they plan to sell the house in 3 years.
Solar thermal hot water heating is amazing. The incredible simplicity of such a system is one of its most appealing attributes. You have panels, composed of many small, black, PVC pipes. The water runs through these pipes, gets hot from the sun shining down on them, and then goes back to your boiler.
Makes a hell of a lot more sense than having oil or coal powering the same thing. Right now I am working on having this simple and effective technology installed at my school to provide hot water for the dorms. Its a beautiful thing, and I would love to see FL and the US follow Israels example and mandate its inclusion in the construction of all new buildings that will need hot water.
Referring to R. Margolis’s comment above, the issue of payback is irrelevant as house buyers would prefer to buy a house with smaller energy bills. This sounds like the old and irrelevant rhetoric that going green would harm the [US] economy. Surely there are more jobs created in adopting renewables than in any other sector. Let’s learn lessons from Japan, Austria and Germany are the best example!
The U.S. is finally on the right track.
A major U.S. manufacturer announced this week that they will begin major production of solar water heating systems…http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/10/emw562976.htm
While I am not sure of the average stay time in a house in the US vs Germany or Austria, if someone is buying a home for 5-7 year stay time and the solar system is not already there, they may not find the energy savings sufficient to put it in. Certainly if the home already has the system or if a family will be living there for over 7-10 years, it is a no-brainer.
There are different ways to “go green” and not everyone will follow the same path (e.g., compact fluorescents are popular, but most people don’t buy Sunfrost refrigerators). Solar thermal water heaters are one of many different technologies to help reduce carbon while providing the energy we need.
Amy I would love if you could contact me by e-mail to discuss your thoughts. I am currently working with Stanford University on a project, and we are installing our test unit as we speak on the roof of the school. Here is my e-mail Jonerik.dillon@hotmail.com
To comment on Margolis’s comments. I have to disagree with you, ROI of your system with government rebates takes about 2-3 years. And even if they were about to sell their house in the following 2 years. It would be easier to sell a house with low water heating costs then to a house with no system at all.
R Margolis,
Love to hear your contributions, but your ‘payback’ concept is completely backwards.
- One, the financing of a solar hot water system can be rolled into the mortgage.
- Two, a five year ‘payback’ can also be called a 20% Return on Investement (ROI)
- Three, since a mortgage might be 6-7% in financing interest and solar thermal is 20%…the rate of PROFIT is 13-14%.
- Four, try and get that rate of return with something as stable as your utility bill (like a bond) for the lifespan of the system – usually at least 20 years.
- Five, realize that selling a house with a profit-making investment of 13-14% annually, that is ‘greener’, in the next three years might actually be a big bonus.
Anything with less than a 10 year ‘payback’ actually gets better than a 10% return on investment and is actually a pretty damn good use of your money for the level of stability you get. Wrap your brain around that and the world shifts.
The “Green Brothers”, have come up with a really incredible video about solar water heating, including footage of solar water heaters in Rizhao and interviews with solar water heater salespeople and installers. It’s really amazing first-hand footage of the SWH situation in Rizhao.
Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsOpsUcrQrU
This includes some other great information about solar water heating in China, including the fact that almost 10 percent of all Chinese households use SWH systems resulting in a total of 40 million SWH systems in China, or two-thirds of the world’s total SWH systems.
It is an amazing part of their video series, China’s Green Beat, an amazing series of podcasts, which I would also recommend checking out at — http://chinasgreenbeat.typepad.com/
I really can’t wait to post a picture of this, but just saw that the Chinese embassy here in Delhi is COVERED in solar water heaters. It’s amazing — they seem large enough to provide the entire complex with hot water! If only the American embassy (across the street) would do the same, not to mention the US as a whole… This is relevant for Bali, because India and China’s governments have been clear that they shouldn’t and won’t make emissions reductions until the US makes major reductions in their per capita and total emissions. As mentioned above, many parts of the US should eliminate electric water heating — and many parts of India, in addition to being provided with clean water, should continue to incorporate solar water heating, too.
I must be confused. If a system with a five year payback is sold two years after installation it seems like a money loser, not a positive ROI (i.e., has not yet reached the point of paying back the initial investment). Yes it is less of a hit if the system is purchased as part of refinancing a mortage. Such investments compete against other home improvements that boost the resale value. Please remember that most US homebuyers are looking for the best buy. If energy prices stay high enough that solar water heaters are a good deal, we will certainly see a lot more of them.
Southern Energy Solutions, Marietta, Georgia, United States, is an Atlanta area dealer of solar thermal water heating systems, serving all of the state of Georgia. While Georgia has no state incentives for renewables, interest is growing.
Southern Energy Solutions
http://www.soenso.com
hi
I am vishruti Vijay ,I am a student doing her 4th semester law (B BA LLB) in NLU,Jodhpur.We have this subject called managerial economics,in this subject as projects we pick any product(industry) and analyze its demand in India.For this I will be needing a lot of data,i was wondering if you could help me out,it would be very kind of you.
Thanking you
Vishruti Vijay
Thanks for the excellent work in promoting this overlooked resource. My work involves commercial and domestic scale solar hot water systems in the US and Caribbean. One important factor I did not see addressed was the ability of the equipment to withstand high winds. My companies product is engineered and configured to withstand 150 mph winds, and the potential for high speed debris impact, which is so important in hurricane prone regions. I can be reached at twoice@gmail.com for anyone interested in learning more about our applications. Peace and justice for all.
For all of you who are interested in getting involved in the Solar business:
My company is in the process of establishing our dealer network for the U.S. Currently we are seeking representatives across the U.S to handle distribution in their region. We will have the SRCC certification completed in several months and be in direct competition with Apricus. I will not disclose our company information over this site. However if somebody does feel they are interested in getting involved in the Solar Water Heating business, and you have prior experience in the industry please contact me on my personal e-mail.
Best Regards,
Jon-Erik Dillon
Jonerik.dillon@hotmail.com
Solar water heater or solar hot water is water heated by the use of solar energy. Solar heating systems are generally composed of solar thermal collectors, a water storage tank or another point of usage, interconnecting pipes and a fluid system to move the heat from the collector to the tank.
I believe solar water heating is catching on. i found a system
that is very consumer friendly.
This system is low cost and is SRCC
about 3000 (USD)
many people dont know about it.
I can get you in direct contact with the factory if interested
reply to
willsresource@gmail.com