Rod Speed wrote:

Matthew Maddock wrote

We are moving to France in a few months to a house that needs
renovating etc. There is no existing hot water system, so that got me
thinking that instead of putting in the usual electric water heating
system that is common in France, a solar system might be nice.

They're hardly ever good value where mains power is available.

I beg to differ. It's not hard to generate enough hot water to pay for a
DHW system in reduced electric costs. Pay back for my system vs.
electricity would be about 100 months. Not great, but I know many systems
running over 10 years with no capital additions, so it's workable. Since
I'm not _on_ grid, and use propane for hot water, payback is quicker.
--
derek