Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Solar Hot water or water tank 2Dec 30, 2013 4:57 am We went solar hot water: Better Financially. Easier to add rainwater collection later. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Solar Hot water or water tank 3Dec 30, 2013 7:31 am bashworth We went solar hot water: Better Financially. Easier to add rainwater collection later. Tend to agree. But tank is handy. Re: Solar Hot water or water tank 5Dec 30, 2013 9:22 am As you are asking about the choice of solar HWS or RWH to the WCs, I assume that you are building in Victoria. IF you are building in Victoria... You are not required to have either if the estate is connected to reticulated recycled water that is connected to the WCs. Reticulated recycled water is not considered suitable for laundry use. RWH This option requires you to have a 2,000 litre water tank connected to all WCs and serviced by a minimum 50 sq m roof harvest area. The average person uses about 160 lpw flushing the toilet. The household use will depend on the time spent at home, residents, visitors etc. Make an approximation of your annual WC use. You will need to use the harvested water in additional areas to fully utilise the system so you get value for money. A 50 sq m roof harvest area will only harvest between 27,000 and 28,000 litres per year after factoring a 15% yield loss from the 650 mm average annual rainfall. Harvesting 50 sq m usually requires harvesting a minimum of 2 downpipes. Due to aesthetics, many builders will only harvest one. The smallest roof area that I have seen harvested is 12 sq m. A 2,000 litre tank is also very small. If a project builder does it, you need to assert control before the contracts are signed otherwise you could/will get priced gouged for unnecessary automatic mains water switching devices, oversized expensive pumps, improper pipe work and a host of other things that will give you an expensive sub standard system. As most project builders are tied in with tank companies that also do the installs, negotiations could be difficult. The cost of the tank is only part of the overall cost. If you do your homework and have it done later, you are in control and you will have a neater and cheaper fully utilised system that also harvests and stores a lot more water that is also cleaner. I would opt for the solar HWS. You can ask the builder to install plumbing that later connects to a pump. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Solar Hot water or water tank 6Dec 30, 2013 9:26 am If your current hotwater isn't all that old, i.e. only 5 - 10 years old, I'd be going for the water tank plumbed to your toilets. If you can have the rain water tank base as high as the cistern, then you won't need a pump to refill the cistern. You can get squat water tanks, so you can still have them lower than your gutters to keep the tank full. Sure, gravity feed won't fill the cistern up as fast as pumped water, but how many times have you really needed to make that second flush ? I am hoping to be able to do something like that in our new build, and going to make allowances in the plumbing to let me do this at a later date. If you are on mains pressure and can't raise your tank up a few feet, you will need to buy a pump to get that water to your toilets, and pressure rated fittings to do that. At the stage, you'd probably be better putting all that money towards solar hotwater. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Solar Hot water or water tank 7Dec 30, 2013 9:50 am Thanks for the replies guys and yes I am in Vic, northern subs. I think overall I will be better off with the solar Hot Water as this is something more involved to fit later on and the orientation of my roof faces north so perfect for gathering the most sun I can. With the water tank, I can do most the work myself, placing the tank, digging the trenches etc so can save a bit of money. With this option, I think I will see if my plumber will put a point outside so that i can connect the tank to it at a later date. Thanks again. Re: Solar Hot water or water tank 8Oct 03, 2014 12:14 pm In terms of costs savings to the home owner the solar unit will win hands down. Re: Solar Hot water or water tank 12Oct 04, 2014 7:21 pm mixo I went for the water tank as it was cheaper option that SHW. Very unusual. Most people get ripped big time on new home rainwater harvesting installations. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. 18 90428 From what I know about water tanks (I've been working with a client on them for a few years now) is this - The concrete can last a lifetime if they don't crack for some… 2 10620 If you can calculate the reasonable charged head from let's say 100mm below the gutter to the top of where the vertical riser's horizontal discharge pipe will be, that… 11 17525 |