So now you saying solar thermal has no pay back ? ... please ... solar
thermal is about 5x better than solar PV in payback times.

The cost is about 1700.00 (US) for a system that will replace about 90% of
domestic hot-water needs , and in my last house , lowered my electric usage
by about 45 dollars a month.

There are many web-references to the 3-4 year break even ... instead of
picking on my grammar , spend some time to get your facts right and use
Google for references instead of your obvious fact-less opinions of solar
thermal and solar electric.






"Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun, the Dark Remover"" wrote
in message ...

SNIP

My apt. owner put solar water heater panels on the roof more than ten
years ago, and I don't think they've been cost effective. The
neighborhood vandals threw rocks at one and broke it, so they had to pur
chicken wire over the panels to prevent damage. The cats used the foam
pipe insulation to sharpen their claws, so it's gone for about two feet
up from the roof. The controller and storage tanks are not working as
they should, so I would guess that the system needs repair. All in all,
even with the rebates, it wasn't as good as it was made out to be.

I think that the figures that you gave might be optimum, but not
realistic, when other things are considered. Like dirt and snow can
seriously reduce the solar output. So some maintenance has to be done.
And there are other factors, intangibles, that have to be considered,
such as breakdown on the electronics. When that happens, the owner may
have to make a tough decision to spend a lot of money to repair, or just
leave it unrepaired and disconnect it. Don't say that's not going to
happen! Most of the solar heater panels I've seen are not working after
a few years. It's a just matter of entropy. Things just get ignored
and turn to dust, and no one bothers with them anymore.

BTW, your followup is not easily readable, misuse of commas, etc. Needs
work.
[snip]