LA-80-09-3 -- A Program to Involve the Homeowner in the Fabrication and Installation of a Solar Water Heater PDF

The ASU Solar Water Heater Workshops offered through the Research and Service Foundation, College of Architecture, Arizona State University, consist of a hardware package and a workshop curriculum specifically designed for the homeowner. The kit was developed and evaluated by the Research and Service Foundation and is made available to the class participants by a member of the local solar industry. The workshop consists of a total of twelve hours of lecture and laboratory instruction.

An integral part of this program is a systematic procedure designed to easily enable the homeowner to obtain the necessary local building permits. An important advantage of this program to the participant is the small outlay of money. After the liberal state and federal tax credits have been exercised, the actual cost to the participant is generally less than $200. This results in a payback period of less than two years for those participants who presently own electric water heaters. During the period from July 1978 through July 1979 over 1,000 participants have successfully completed this program, and they represent a growing number of committed solar users. As a result, over 36,000 square feet of solar collectors have been added to the Phoenix metropolitan area through this program.