Appalachian Energy Blog

Recent press, ranging from the technical folks at NREL to the popular media of NBC has reminded all of us here at Appalachian Energy why we get out of bed in the morning (besides the irony of selling heating products in the coldest office in town): that Solar Thermal makes economic sense! The decision to invest may seem daunting all the same though, especially when vague timelines of cost recovery sometimes (poorly) range a decade.

Enter the new fresh perspective for the week, borrowed from the author Tom Lane. Lets highball it for good measure, saying it will take a full 8 years to recover your investment costs of a solar water heating (SWH) system. Over that time, you will be putting anywhere from 70 to 95% of your typical annual heating bills back in your pocket, fully getting your money back in savings- a return on investment of between 14 – 33%. And this is only in the first few years. The system will last at least three times longer than this “payback period,” a 20 to 30 year period of proverbial (non-taxable) cream off the top.

But here’s the clincher… the money that is initially invested in solar will be spent on water heating over those 8 years, with OR without your new chic SWH! The savings are at least equivalent to your status quo heating bills. So essentially, you’re buying the system whether you choose to or not. The question is how many more times will you buy it over your lifetime. Then throw in added equity to your home ($500 in energy savings increases equity value by $10,000), support for your local economy and drastic worldwide environmental improvements through carbon reductions and you have an Appalachian recipe for success my friends.

And, with all the money you’re MAKING, you can have more opportunity for some “extra-curricular” activities, some of which can expand the solar revolution itself.