Sunward, an affiliate of Country Home Products, has launched a 'plug and play' solar hot water system. The complete solar hot water system works in any climate and cuts household energy bills by up to $800 per year, the company claimed.
The entire Sunward Solar Hot Water System, including shipping and installation, qualifies for a 30% federal tax credit made possible by the $80bn allocated for clean energy and other green initiatives in the Recovery Act of 2009. State-level financial incentives and credits are also available in 24 states throughout the US.
Designed to work in any climate, the Sunward Solar Hot Water System captures the sun’s heat through roof or ground-mounted solar collectors. This heat is then transferred and stored in a solar storage tank that is connected to the existing home hot water supply.
The Sunward system does not replace the existing home hot water heating system, but instead is designed to work in conjunction with any type of existing hot water system. For the majority of the year, the Sunward system will supply all of the hot water needed, so the existing system will never turn on.
In the short days of winter, the existing hot water system serves as a backup if the solar system cannot supply all of the hot water a home requires.
The Sunward System can be installed by a two person crew in a single day. Time-savings are made possible through Sunward’s modular design with components that are factory-made to work as a single system that installs quickly and efficiently, the company added.
The complete Sunward Solar Hot Water System starts at $7,348 before federal tax incentives, or $5,148 after the federal tax credit, which is available to any US taxpayer.
Joe Perrotto, president of Sunward, said: ”With extensive government incentives, these smart technologies have never made so much financial sense.
”This is not just about being green; it’s really about making a smart investment in a technology that can help take your household off of the energy cost rollercoaster for the next 20-30 years and put it on a path to personal energy independence.”