Nothing new under the sun - hot showers
Trip Start
Jan 30, 2007
1
54
814
Trip End
Dec 31, 2011
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Lijiang,
China
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Well, for the last three weeks most days I've been enjoying hot showers, courtesy of the sun. I had a solar water heater and tank installed in my place. Total cost about US$250, including installation and possibly the lifetime warranty (perhaps longer, as this obligation might get passed onto their kids). The folk who sold and installed live 100m down the road. It was all installed while I was away, along with a Western toilet in a nice white tile bathroom (declared the most modern part of my house by some visitors).
It's weird that in most Western countries solar water heating in only an option for the wealthy middle-class with a conscience. What's the payback on solar, for example in New Zealand? Around 10-15 years. Many friends there have considered it, but costs range from $6,000-$12,000NZ, even with the government subsidy of $1,000.
So why is it that I can get a tidy 140 litre (three person) unit for so little, while in most other places it costs the earth?
I am not sure why. But I do know that now China is the leading manufacturer of solar technology - take that Scandinavia - and that here, people put them in not because they care about the earth, climate change, rising energy costs or because they are greenies, but because they make sense. Economic sense.
Here in Lijiang we have plenty of sunshine - with between 5 and 9 hours on average each day throughout the year.
I came across this from the newly-available Wikipedia:
Solar hot water systems have become popular in China, where basic models start at around 1,500 yuan (US$190), much cheaper than in Western countries (around 80% cheaper for a given size of collector). It is claimed that at least 30 million Chinese households now have one, and that the popularity is due to the efficient evacuated tubes which allow the heaters to function even under gray skies and at temperatures well below freezing.[18]
So back to my long, hot shower . I gain green points for using the sun to heat that water. As for the precious water . .
