Benefits

The advantages of using solar water heating systems over electric or gas heaters are multiple. An average electric water geyser consumes 8-10 units of power every day, which in monetary terms approximates to Rs 40 a day. Thus, every month it adds Rs 1,500 to your electricity bill. A shift to the solar water heating system by you would see this cost come down to, zero. Yes, you read it right its zero. This massive cost advantage neatly covers up the one and only difficulty that domestic users think of when switching to a solar water heating system. And that is their high installation charges.

Costs of installation

A single panel based solar water heating system costs about Rs 20,000. An average household needs a 3-panel 300 litre system, which would thus cost around Rs 60,000. "It is for this reason, mainly, that the solar water heating systems have been more popular in the institutional and industrial sector," says Mr. Vishal Kapur, Director VK SOLAR. However, cost matrix needs to be reconsidered by the domestic users, he insists.

Based upon the expenditure incurred in electrical consumption by electric geysers , on an average Rs 22,500 per year for a three-geyser household, the expense made on installing a solar water heating system is recovered in three or maximum four years. And, then for at least 15 years to come, since most manufacturers guarantee a 20-year run, the system is literally free of any cost for the domestic user as it does not involve any energy bills and a next-to-nothing maintenance expenditure. "The actual savings made in terms of cutting upon electricity bills equals upto an amount where in you could buy a brand new car for yourself", chuckles Mr. Vishal Kapur.

Users, who find it difficult to invest Rs 60,000 initially, can avail of soft loans promoted by the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES) for installation of domestic solar water heating systems. "These loans are provided through nationalised as well as private banks at an interest rate of two percent for the domestic users," informs Dilip Nigam, principal scientific officer, solar energy centre, MNES.

Once you have got over the initial cost glitches, the advantages of a solar water heater are unparalleled, asserts Mr. Vishal Kapur. For larger homes, such as farm houses, he says, the electric geysers, which have to be installed in every bath room, cannot match up to a solar water heater. Solar water systems provide 24 hour hot water supply without being switched-on or switched-off unlike the electric geysers. They can also supply very huge quantities of water as compared to electric geysers, which get exhausted after 3-4 buckets of hot water has been culled out. Mr. Vishal Kapur specifically recommends solar heaters for farm houses because of the quantity advantage.

"Even on a cloudy or a feeble sun day, solar water heaters provide moderately warm water at 40 degrees centigrade," asserts Aggarwal . The heating of the water does not depend upon how hot the sun rays are but how bright they are, argues Aggarwal against the misconceptions surrounding solar water systems' ability to function well during very cold spells.

Availability

Another common hindrance sighted by customers in the past related to the availability of solar water heaters in the market. "Until very recently solar products were considered to be either small scale or interest-based experimental goods available mostly at exhibitions, which had cast doubts on their sustainability ," says M Subramanya , CEO, Tata BP Solar.

However, now, "solar water heaters are being manufactured as branded products by firms with national presence, vast network of dealers and assured customer support," he asserts. While most companies deal through authorised dealers, they also provide direct installation services , maintenance services as well as full time customer support.

Solar water heating systems have emerged as a bright alternative to household electricity woes