Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 May 12, 2017 3:30 pm I am going to do home extension, adding a first floor. In victoria, it is required to meet with 6 stars energy rate. http://www.vba.vic.gov.au/consumers/6-star-standard It looks I need either a solar hot water system or rainwater tank to meet with. I have an existing gas hot water system. It looks rain water tank is much cheaper. So I prefer to this. However, my friend said solar hot water system is better and much more useful.. Re: solar hot water system or rainwater tank? 2May 12, 2017 6:58 pm All round I would say that a solar hot water system is the better option. It will save you money every day so it will return its investment. Last time I looked at rainwater tanks, although it will save water it wouldn't save much money at all. . . . and that wasn't considering the running and maintenance on the pump. 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 system or rainwater tank? 3May 12, 2017 7:52 pm Why not both We had a rainwater tank but to be honest we never really used it except in the first house where the water was also used to flush the toilet and watering the garden. The savings were minimal but environmentally it was good to know you were reusing the water. How long do you think you will live there? Solar only makes sense if you are not going to sell within the next 4-5 years. Re: solar hot water system or rainwater tank? 4May 12, 2017 10:37 pm chenlocus I am going to do home extension, adding a first floor. In victoria, it is required to meet with 6 stars energy rate. I have an existing gas hot water system. You need to do the maths, are your water and sewage usage costs based on a tier pricing structure and if so, do you know what tier you are usually in? 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 system or rainwater tank? 5May 13, 2017 10:13 pm Have a look at Sanden heat pump hotwater. Not cheap but you can run them from a solar panel or mains(only draw 1kw when heating). Reviews seem to be very good as well. Storage system, so you have instant hot water. Worth a look. I intend to put it into our new build. Grate, thank you! RexChan if thats the reason i could sleep well without thinking about additional cost. But 1st i'll need to read about NRV cleaning/replaing stuff. I… 7 31899 the sun master is the solar heating to "warm" the water in the tank the S26 is your hot water system which will heat the water (25 degrees?) so with both turned on you… 2 14795 For our new build in NSW we opted for a heat pump with a 315L storage tank. Early days yet as we only moved in 6 weeks ago. Haven't run out out of hot water though. Ours… 7 4599 |