Solar Systems: Solar Power

Living off the grid is appealing to more than just a few anti-government types these days. In a world that has become overloaded with the lust for materialism and a dangerous growing dependence on the government, many families are giving up the traditional life of the suburbs, SUVS, carpooling to school and the nine to five jobs to live their lives off the grid and become independent.

Using solar power is a clean, natural resource that has been around and successfully in use for quite awhile now but is only recently starting to appeal to the masses as more people work to live green and environmentally friendly.

With solar heating and generators the need to be dependent on a power conglomerate is eased but the question few people think about is what about the plumbing? Can you live off the grid and still have hot water for a shower, doing dishes and using a washing machine? Is it possible to use the solar power panels you will depend on for electricity to run your plumbing needs like a hot water heater as well?

The answer is yes. With photovoltaic solar panels you can generate your own electricity. This will allow you to create your own hot water for your solar system plumbing needs such as bathing, cleaning and even using a pool or spa. Living life off the grid doesn’t mean you have to stop enjoying the good life after all.
If this an option you are going to seriously pursue you should find a plumber who is familiar with solar plumbing needs to install the hot water tank and the needed accessories to make it all work. A solar water heater will include a solar collector and a storage tank. There are two types of solar water heaters- the passive model has no internal circulating pumps and controls and the active model that does have the internal pumps and controls.

For the die hard, do it yourselfers you can do it yourself but it can be a very time consuming task without previous experience and skills to back you up. With more people going solar, there are more plumbers who are familiar with how the solar heating and plumbing work together and they can successfully set you up with less effort and time than it would take a novice to do.
In the end going solar will help to make your carbon footprint a little less large, your power bill will of course disappear completely, and you will still enjoy the comforts of a hot shower, so what more could you possibly need?