In the deep southeast Texas area that I live, in spite of 42 inches of
rain that we receive annually, A direct gain solar hot water heater
means that we spend very very little on hot water heating. Scald risk
is avoided because the water in the hot water tank is generally cooler
than the water coming down from the solar collector.

Lots of different designs out there for solar hot water, some good,
some no so good. Choose carefully and you CAN dramatically cut your
hot water costs. It would be best to look for products sold and
serviced in Europe. Cast your eyes a bit further than France as you
may find that both Germany and Italy offer decent solar products.


As interesting as Nick's ideas are, I don't think that you want to
build a home brew solar hot water heater.