Solar Thermal Water and Pool Heating Systems
for the Home

Residential Solar Thermal Heating (STH) Systems for Texas & Louisiana

Alternative Power Solutions LLC (APS) designs, installs, and maintains solar thermal heating systems for heating new and existing home domestic hot water, and swimming pools. For homes with electric water heating system solar thermal water heating can reduce your electricity bill by up to 25%.  For homes with pools these systems will replace up to 85% of your pool heating cost and extend your swimming season to 10 months a year without the use of traditional pool heaters.

The typical payback period for a residential solar heating system is 4 to 6 years. For solar pool heating systems, this period is between 3 to 5 years.

APS also sells pre-packaged solar thermal water heating and pool heating systems to the technically savvy home owner and to new home builders that can be installed by a plumber once trained by our staff.

Solar Thermal Water Heating Systems

Water is heated in these systems when sunlight strikes the heat absorber surface of a solar collector which is typically mounted on the roof of your home. Then, either a heat transfer fluid or actual potable water flows through tubes attached to the absorbers and picks up the absorbed heat. The heated water is stored in a separate preheat tank or a conventional water heater tank until needed.

Solar water heating systems require a backup system for cloudy days and times of increased demand. Backup is typically done by installing a storage tank with an electric or gas heating system.

Solar Thermal Pool Heating Systems

As already mentioned, a solar pool heating systems can pay for itself in 3 to 5 years. These systems are cost competitive with both gas and heat pump pool heaters, and they have very low annual operating costs. Actually, solar pool heating is the most cost-effective use of solar energy in many climates.
Solar water heating may qualify a home for an EPA Five Star Home energy-efficiency mortgage, LEED certification, or as a Zero Energy Home (ZEH).  The federal government and many state governments offer various tax credits and financial incentives towards the purchase of these systems.

Solar Thermal Collectors used for Homes

APS currently offers two types of solar thermal collectors for residential applications:

Glazed flat-plate solar thermal collectors are insulated, weatherproofed boxes that contain a dark absorber plate under one or more tempered glass or plastic (polymer) covers.

Unglazed flat-plate solar thermal collectors are typically used for solar pool heating and have a dark absorber plate. They are made of metal or polymer, and are installed without a cover or enclosure.

Cost of a Residential Solar Thermal Water and Pool Heating System

Residential solar water heating systems including installation typically cost from $3,000 to $7,000. Cost depends on a number of variables, including:

• The amount of water to be heated
• Type of solar thermal collectors
• Mounting options
• Desired function(s)

For solar pool heating the primary variable is the overall square footage of the pools surface area.

APS offers long term maintenance service contracts on residential solar water and pool heating systems that we install or on existing systems to ensure continual performance beyond standard warranties.

If you are interested in a solar thermal water or pool heating system for your home, please call APS at 713-981-3875 or complete our
Contact Form.