Solar water heating is one of the most successful applications of solar thermal technologies. It provides environmentally clean energy and has enormous potential within domestic and industrial sectors. A solar water heater can be much more economical over the lifetime of the system than heating water with electricity, fuel oil, propane, or natural gas, depending upon the price of fuel sources. According to the findings of the Florida Solar Energy Center, the payback period for a well-designed and properly installed solar water heater could be between 4 and 8 years. Solar water heaters use solar energy as the fuel and hence are environmentally friendly, as they do not generate any toxic emissions during their operation. There are, however, environmental burdens associated with solar water heaters due to the materials used and the fabrication that is involved, however such burdens are negligible when compared to water heating through other sources.
