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Xringer · 12-23-11, 10:58 AM

You Sir, are correctomodo.. PV is the worse way to make hot water..

But, the 500w tracking array is keeping my battery bank charged,
and for the moment, the 800w array has nothing else to do.
Making AC power for the Plasma TV (in the den) would be nice,
but we mostly watch it at night..

I was wrong about waiting until 2012 for more sun..
Woburn, MA 01801 Month Weather Report - AccuWeather.com
We're going to have one day of Mostly Sunny this month..

I have been thinking of getting one of those Evacuated tube units.
But, I have no place close to the house to install it. (can't use roof).
The backyard PV is feeding indoors on 100 foot cables.
It would be a long and down hill run for hot water.

Plus, my backyard PV location is marginal at best..
My roof gets about twice the sun as the PV out back!

The other factor is the oil burner. It's our back-up heating system.
Running it for 20-30 minutes a day is our security blanket.
Knowing we can heat the house when it's near zero outside, is good.
We know it's there and can be cranked up in a matter of minutes.
Plus, it's providing us with DHW..

Having a few extra BTUhs from PV going into the boiler can't hurt anything.
And, if it keeps the boiler from running the full 30 minutes, it's going to
save some money on oil. (I think it's about 6.5 cents a minute).

IIRC, the government studies stated that DHW from PV wouldn't be feasible unless PV got down to $1 a watt.
But, what if you are using PV to replace Oil? And the price of oil keeps going up?

12-23-11, 10:58 AM	#3
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	You Sir, are correctomodo.. PV is the worse way to make hot water.. But, the 500w tracking array is keeping my battery bank charged, and for the moment, the 800w array has nothing else to do. Making AC power for the Plasma TV (in the den) would be nice, but we mostly watch it at night.. I was wrong about waiting until 2012 for more sun.. Woburn, MA 01801 Month Weather Report - AccuWeather.com We're going to have one day of Mostly Sunny this month.. I have been thinking of getting one of those Evacuated tube units. But, I have no place close to the house to install it. (can't use roof). The backyard PV is feeding indoors on 100 foot cables. It would be a long and down hill run for hot water. Plus, my backyard PV location is marginal at best.. My roof gets about twice the sun as the PV out back! The other factor is the oil burner. It's our back-up heating system. Running it for 20-30 minutes a day is our security blanket. Knowing we can heat the house when it's near zero outside, is good. We know it's there and can be cranked up in a matter of minutes. Plus, it's providing us with DHW.. Having a few extra BTUhs from PV going into the boiler can't hurt anything. And, if it keeps the boiler from running the full 30 minutes, it's going to save some money on oil. (I think it's about 6.5 cents a minute). IIRC, the government studies stated that DHW from PV wouldn't be feasible unless PV got down to $1 a watt. But, what if you are using PV to replace Oil? And the price of oil keeps going up? __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..