How Much Does a Water Heater Cost vs a Solar Water Heater

How much does a water heater cost?  Well, it's not an answer that comes in a single word.  There are solar water heaters and non-solar water heaters.  There are electric options, gas options, and non-traditional options.  All have their ups and downs.  For example, conventional gas or electric heaters are usually cheaper than solar water heaters.  But, over time, solar hot water heaters end up saving users money, because the average reduction in yearly expenses is between fifty and eighty percent.  Average energy costs on gas and electric water-heating options are going to be between $200 and $600 a year, depending.  That means you could save between $160 and $480 a year.  On the low-end, at the very least $100 a year is saved by the solar option. On the high end, at the very least $300 is saved by the solar option.

Ten years of solar heating savings at the highest of the high-end could come to between $3000 and $4800.  That's enough for a teenager's first car!  On the low end, ten years could save an individual between $1000 and $1600--still the cost of a teenager's first car!  But one must not neglect to factor in the actual price of the heater itself.  Asking, "how much does a water heater cost?" is a two part question.  The first answer presented is the long-term one.  Now for the short term answer.  A solar water heater can cost between $1500 and $5000.  The higher the water usage, the more a solar water heater is going to save an individual in the long run.  Still, even at the lowest cost bracket, over thirty years the solar water heater will end up yielding substantial savings.  Ten years saves the low-end water user between $1000 and $1600.  That means twenty years saves the same user between $2000 and $3200, and thirty years saves them between $3000 and $3200.  Meanwhile on the high end, those savings over thirty years can get as high as $9000 and $14,600.

Every individual is going to have different savings in reference to their annual energy usage and requirements.  But for the low end and the high end user, solar heating options can definitively save money.  If solar energy options for water heating applications are also extended to other electricity needs in the house, the savings compound.  Annually, Orlando residents are known to spend about $200 on energy every month.  That is an average figure.  Certainly some households may spend as much as $1000 a month on energy alone.  Regardless, the point is that homeowners stand to save thousands through application of solar energy.

If a solar water heater and a solar energy system utilizing panels cost $15,000 together, but saved $2700 a year, then in under seven years, those solar options are actually making money for the homeowner in question.  Plus, such measures will definitely increase the value of a given property; and since solar water heaters and energy options can be mortgaged, there need not be any change in monthly expenses.  It's basically like you're trading a fee you'll have to pay either way for thousands of dollars in the future.

How much does a water heater cost?  Well, it doesn't have to cost anything, over time!