Solar water heaters have been in use in Florida since the early 1900’s. As electricity became available and cheap, power companies gave away electric water heaters in order to sell more electricity. Today solar waters are very popular due to the dramatic amount a solar water heater can cut your electric bill.
As part of the Federal Stimulus Package there is a 30% tax credit for those who install water heaters and the Florida Renewable Technologies and Energy Efficiency Act will pay homeowners $500 to install a solar water heater and business can get $15 for every 1,000 btu’s of solar capacity they install. In addition there is no sales tax on solar in Florida and all solar systems are exempt from increased property tax.
A solar water heater will provide a 15% annual return on your investment for 2 people in a household and a 25% annual return for a household of 4 people.
Then there’s the energy conservation aspect. A solar water heater will reduce a typical household’s carbon footprint by 14,000 lbs of carbon annually. That is more than the average car produces in a year and saves the equivalent of 11.4 barrels of oil annually.
