Homes in Israel utilize the power of the sun for their water heating needs. Around 90% of the homes here use solar powered water heaters that are installed on the roof. This works fantastically, but for the cloudy or rainy days in the winter these heaters have an option to use an electric heating mode if the sun hasn't shown enough to make sufficient hot water for the homes needs. This is a picture of Raz's neighbor's water heating systems.
I pulled this next picture off the internet because I must admit, it's a more impressive display of how many people use this system.
I found a blog called MetaEfficient where they gave a little more information about the history of how Israel has come to have so much solar power. The long and short of it is this:
During the 1950's there was an energy crisis, so residents were restricted to heating their water at specific times of the day.
That's not fun, so residents invested in solar heating. Israel has lots of sun, and sunshine is free. Utilizing solar power also reduces imports of other costly energy sources such as oil and coal.
By the 80's more than half the homes in Israel used solar water heaters, and today there's a law requiring solar water heaters on homes.
Today 90% of homes in Israel use solar power for their water heating needs. The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs website told me that this system saves the average homeowner around 2,000 kWh each year in electricity costs. Not too bad if you ask me.
It's a wonderful system, and someday when I think about settling down and making a home, I think it would be just grand to find a way to instal my own solar water heating system.
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