Investing in a solar system must now stand on its own financial and environmental merits. With serious concerns, like the recent predictions by the Navy about Y2K problems, solar water heating insures a source of hot water. To be totally safe, many of the solar water heater kits come with tiny solar cell panels. These produce just enough electricity to power the small pump and controls.
Water heating is the most cost effective use of solar energy.
Although investing in a system whll not provide the same return as the stock market has over the past several years, it still makes long-term economic sense. As more and more people compete for the same limited conventional energy resources and environmental pollution continues to worsen, the cost of conventional fuels will skyrocket. The sun's energy will always be free. Many of them now use the high-tech controls and computer designs to optimize the hot water output. With sophisticated designs and computer-aided manufacturing techniques, reliability is excellent.