Hawaii recently enacted a law that requires all new homes to install solar water heaters. Hawaii is the first state in the U.S. to do so, but overseas, many countries have been using the sun to heat their water for years. In Israel 90% of homes have solar water heaters installed. Looking like tiny rocket ships atop Israeli residences, a small solar panel is enough to meet 50-75% of hot water needs.

Solar water heaters were first introduced in Israel when the country experienced a fuel crisis in the early 1950s. Many Israelis responded by installing solar water heaters. By 1983, 60% of the population heated their water with the sun. A law was eventually passed requiring the installation of solar water heaters.

In 2005, Spain became the second country (after Israel) to require solar water heaters. It also became the first country to require the installation of solar cells for electricity generation in new buildings.

I had to replace my own water heater this weekend as my 24-year old gas water heater had started leaking profusely. After much research and internal debate, I decided to get the cheapest one I could find which was an electric traditional tank. I wanted to go tankless, but the gas tankless units require some pretty major construction effort for venting, and the electric units were too expensive. With regard to the traditional tank model, the electric version was less than half the cost of the gas unit. I only had one source of 240 power: my electric clothes dryer, so I got rid of that and replaced it with a gas model. Hopefully, the usage costs of the water heater and dryer will offset each other. I intend to replace the tank model with a tankless when they hopefully come down in price a bit. Perhaps they will also find a way to make the venting of the gas units less of an obstacle.

When faced with the prospect of paying for electricity to heat my water, it occurred to me that my water heater is in an outdoor cabinet which gets lots of sun about 8 hours a day. What a perfect place to use solar energy. That's why this news regarding foreign usage of solar water heating was so interesting to me. In the States, as with pretty much any idea that will cut our use of fuel and coal, it is not practical to use solar power to heat your water. Sometimes it seems the government's major job is to make sure big corporate America doesn't face any obstacles in their pursuit of profit. Gas, power, pharmaceuticals, automotive, tobacco (well, not so much any more), meat, and a handful of others are given an extra boost by Uncle Sam to help overcome any ethical or environmental objections. This usually goes on until the public becomes so fed up with something that politicians realize they won't get re-elected without changing things. If there's one thing a politician hates more than losing the support of a big lobbyist, it's losing the support of the electorate.

Photo source: MetaEfficient