Solar Thermal

How it works:

1.  Solar panels are installed on the roof of your house or on the ground.  Typically 2 or 3 panels for a 3-4 bedroom house.

2.  A mixture of water and glycol, "solar fluid" is pumped through the solar panels and it's heated using the sun.

3.  This heated solar fluid is pumped into a coil inside of your hot water tank.

4.  The water around the now heated coil heats up.

5.  This heated water is what is used as your domestic hot water for your faucets, showers, baths and laundry.

Traditional hot water systems work the same way, however the coil is heated using electricity.