Recently I was installing a solar system on a new home under construction.

While I was installing the system, the new owner stopped by. I asked her: If it wasn’t for the law requiring solar water heaters on new houses, would she had installed solar?

She said no, it was too expensive. I told her that her new solar was going to raise her mortgage by $30 per month and it was going to save her around $150 per month. A no-brainer.

A tankless gas heater will save much more than a regular gas heater; however, nothing can beat a property-sized solar system.

In my 40 years of installing solar, I have only run across a handful of homes that were completely shaded by trees or buildings that made the installation prohibitive.

If we are really trying to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, the waivers to use gas heaters should be rare and justified by a site visit by the person issuing the waiver.

Peter Chiswick

Kailua

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