Installing solar power ... Effectively the water heater becomes another type of battery in [Rogan]’s home, capable of storing energy at least for the day in the form of hot water.
[Darrell]’s idea was simple enough. He hooked up solar panels to just the bottom heating element of his hot water heater. This cut his power bill in half. His calculator is now up at pvh20.com ...
For instance, he talked about cloudy days or at night when solar panels can't generate power, which is when water heaters will be unable to produce hot water. Here's a further breakdown of the ...