Cost > Solar Thermal: More Bang for Your Buck

High-profile technologies like giant, 3.5-MW wind turbines and thin-film PV panels command a majority of the attention in the renewable-energy press these days. But what about solar-thermal systems, the wee workhorses of the renewables sector?

The convenient truth is that solar thermal is the best-proven solar technology to date: it provides the quickest return on investment and ranks among the most cost-effective ways to heat water that are out there.

The challenge has been that it is fundamentally more difficult to make a water heater seem as vital and interesting a contribution to saving the planet as more cutting-edge technologies. Solar panels are showing up in Manhattan high-rises, hybrids are touted as the automotive option for the hip and eco-conscious. And yet very few people recognize how efficiently solar thermal systems continue to heat pools, radiant heat floors, or just regular household hot water, with incredibly clean, low-cost energy that largely replaces emissions-generating natural gas.

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