American Solar was started in 1986 by Al Rich and Richard Smith.
They met while working for Monegone Solar Systems in the early 1980's.
While other companies have come and gone, American Solar has stayed as the number one company in service and sales in the northern Virginia and DC metro region.
With the renewed interest in 'going green' many companies are now jumping on the solar bandwagon. American Solar has over 27 years of experience in Solar Energy!
About 50 - 90% of the hot water heating in a house can be met using heat exchanged from roof top solar water heating collectors in to the hot water heater tank used for the home.
The average home would use 1 to 3 solar panel collectors based on the size of the family and the amount of hot water being used by the home. A larger system would be used if solar heated water is used for radiant heat for heating the home or selected areas of the home.
Solar heated water is excellent for swimming pools (indoors and outdoors) and can extend your swimming season on outdoor pools, and can heat the water for pools used for therapeutic purposes. The cost of a solar water heating system for a swimming pool generally costs less than propane heating for 2 years, so the pay back on the cost of the system is quickly realized.
Solar collectors for pools come in a variety of styles, and one of the most popular are black mat collectors that adhere directly to the roof of the home or pool house. These can usually be installed in one to two days so you can start getting benefits from your pool heating system almost immediately.
Solar collectors for domestic hot water heating are usually 4 x 8 or 3 x 7 in size and look similar to skylights up on the roof. A drain back system or pressurized glycol (non-toxic anti-freeze) solution is used to prevent freezing. Heat is transferred into a storage tank which is similar to a regular water heater, but contains copper coils for heat transfer. Many homes keep their current hot water tank, and add a solar hot water tank to double their hot water storage capacity. Water from the solar hot water tank is fed into the standard hot water heater tank instead of the cold water that would normally go into the tank, so the heating elements in the hot water heater are not needed unless the water temperature drops below the set temperature.
Heat is exchanged with pumps which can be run by a small PV panel for power. Water heats to 150-200 degrees and is stored for future use. Even with some heat loss overnight the preheating of water before it is fed into your standard hot water heater, provides significant savings.
Systems usually cost (installed) about $6000.00-$9500.00 (depending on size and components used) and payback in about 7 years.
The federal government has through 2008 a $2000 tax credit for hot water systems. Homeowners can write off the interest on a home equity loan used to fund this improvement. This scenario, with a fixed rate loan, locks in your price for energy and provides for numerous tax benefits.
Besides heating water for domestic use (showers, dish washing etc.), and swimming pools or hot tubs, radiant floor heating is one of the best ways to utilize solar hot water.
Evacuated tube collectors are recommended to maximize the winter heat collection for home heating.
Most systems last about 20-40 years.
Regular maintenance for solar water heating systems includes glycol (non-toxic antifreeze) changes every 3 years for closed loop systems that do not use a drain back system.
