WTB/LTB Solar Heat panels

[Scuba_Dave]

I'm going w/solar heat panels for my pool, and I am also seriously considering a solar heating setup for the addition. I'm going to have a sloping roof at over 24' long by 25' long that faces almost due South & should receive great sun.
Anybody have any experience with this?

[stang8s]

for heating water you should be able to make your own panels/systems ive seen some pretty cool ones people have done for pools and the water is really hot when it comes out..I have a friend with one of them solar covers on his pool and he cant even use it most of the season, gets too hot. For electricity it is a whole different thing and the cost of panels and batteries, etc start to make it not really worth it.

[KAS]

We have solar hot water and I would say it's not worth it. The problem is that the panels work mostly from May to Sept. I'd bet it saves us about $25/month off our gas bill (We are a family of 4). So, you save about $150 a year. I don't know how much systems cost now but the payback time is pretty long. Also, don't forget your going to have another hotwater tank to replace every 5-10 years as well.

Now the pool might be worth it.

[Scuba_Dave]

Yeah, the pool is mostly what I am looking for. I was considering for hot water inthe summer. I may look into a DIY project, or maybe just for hot water for showering near the pool area.
Thanx for the input

[Armando]

what LTB stands for?

[shearwater]

LTD - "Longing to Buy?"

If only you could divert the excess heat from those metal halides into the pool! :)

[TheUltimateNoob]

i'm not too sure but i'm guessing like to buy?

[Armando]

could it be Love To Buy?

[TheUltimateNoob]

or looking to buy. that would make the most sense i think.

[Scuba_Dave]

Looking, Liking, Luving, Leaning Towards buying..whatever works :)
Bought one on E-Bay for 1/2 what they are in local stores. I'm going to see what it looks like, then decide on more, different make/model.
Pool is at 65, a little chilly still

[Armando]

fill up the pool with saltwater and hook it up to your tank. done.

[mikrok]

Don't pee in the pool

[marco67]

Here are a few from my research
I was looking to do whole house solar electric (or just reef) last year and decided against it, I think the technology is just not quite there yet to make it practical. I figured it was going to cost me about 15K to save 1/3 of my bill, that's over 12 years for a return on investment. Hot water is another story though that seems worth the investment

http://www.newenglandsolar.com/
http://www.akeena.net/index.html
http://www.atlanticsolar.com/kits/ce.htm
http://www.gaiam.com/retail/gai_content/learn/gai_learnArticle.asp?article%5Fid=2240&category%5Fid=168

Hot Water
http://www.nrel.gov/clean_energy/home_solarwater.html

DIY
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/solar/install/dhwinstl/dhwinstl.htm