gas v solar hot water etc

[the beavers]

hi all
we are beginning to renovate but before we do we are considering solar v gas for hot water etc
wondering if anyone has had experience with either system or with gas boosters etc'
any recommendations or experiences etc appreciated
cheers

 

[Twizzle]

if you wanna be a greenie, go solar

if you want the cheapest, go gas

if you go solar with electric booster it depends on your orientation and usage but generally you will never recoup your money on running costs as the electric booster will kill the running cost, gas boosted solar is probably the dearest capital cost but the lowest running cost

heat pumps boosted solar is lower again but by far the most expensive, heat pumps have a very high recuperation time, in other words it takes all night if you have run out of hot water

depending on your usage gas instantaneous can also be cheaper than gas storage, as you only pay to heat the water you use, rather then the water that you store but the burner is bigger so generally small usage you are better of with instantaneous but with a big family you'd probably be better of with normal gas storage

 

[kia ora storm]

Go Gas...stuff the environment.

 

[Medievalknight]

Being a Plumber I would go gas if it was me,..............solars ok but personally i think that we do not have quiet the orientation for solar, therefore the booster would be on most times.............. A heat pump is ok to i guess.

 

[Twizzle]

in order to qualify for the rebates, the orientation needs to be North or West or any combination in between, unfortunately if you are a morning shower person you may as well have an electric hot water unit

the real benefit in Solar is afternoon and evening use as there is not enough solar energy in the sun to heat the water up at 6 AM

 

[roopy]

You will be making a 10 or 20 year commitment.
Electricity and gas will both double or more in price in real terms over that time.
The Solar component will cost about nothing still.

 

[Generalzod]

We had Solar heating since 1984 I tell yeah it's really over-rated, Just in case we were left with no hot water we installed a switch in our bathroom which turned the element on to heat the water up in the tank we where constantly doing this in the Winter season.
So much for saving money....

 

[Bastard Squad]

What are those hot water heaters that don't have a tank and just heat the water as it's required ?

How do they compare to solar, gas & off peak electricity ?

 

[Twizzle]

thats instantaneous that I referred to in the second post

 

[ozbash]

A lot of new places are using them now over here, big lpg cylinder outside.

 

[the beavers]

thanks all for the advice
i am basically in the process of deciding between instantaneus gas and gas boosted solar
my concern with solar is
the quality /warranty on the collectors (i.e if u have to replace them every 7 years then overall no money saved) so i am leaning towards evacuated tubes
as mentioned not hot ennough during winter or morning so essentially using boost all the time

its a bit of a minefield trying to syphion through all the info..... just to be a bit green

 

[Twizzle]

vacuum tube technology is reasonably new in Australia, they will no doubt be imported from China, they are also very efficient and cheap, but you need to keep them clean, make sure you have good access to maintain them

there should be no need to replace solar every 7 years, most have a 20 year life cycle, Edwards Energy have a good titanium model that is very efficient and long lasting, wont corrode

if you go gas boost, go with instantaneous gas boosted solar whether its flat plate or vacuum tube