As we continue our development toward solar hot water heating for the new cheese facility, I’ve found a couple of very interesting resources:
This page tells how to make a solar water heating panel for under $5. Yes, you read that right. It’s not of sufficient volume to heat a house, but it’s an interesting project– and produces water hot enough to burn your fingers.
This page gives a history of modern solar hot water heating. Some highlights:
- In 1897, 1/3 of the households in Pasadena, Calfornia heated their water using “batch” solar heaters.
- William J. Bailey patented the active solar hot water system in 1909, and sold 4,000 of them in the next 9 years.
- In 1941, 1/3 of people in Florida used solar water heating.
- Cheap fossil fuel energy and aggressive marketing by utilities shifted people away from solar.
