Solar powered water heaters saves money

If the cost to go solar is $10,000 per house then the cost of raising CAFE by 10%, about $3.6 billion a year, would be enough to install solar power generation on 360,000 homes each year, or about 5,000,000 over the 14 years that CAFE would be raised. This would amount to about 4% of the total number of homes in the U.S. Why aren't we as a nation having a discussion about this?

Sunny Days and Hot Showers: Solar power hits the roof
Detroit Free Press

Jim Svensson already led a pretty environmentally friendly lifestyle from his gas-sipping Ford Aspire to his composting and recycling habits when he decided to go one step further and install a solar-powered water heater.

Two years later, he has cut his natural gas bills in half.

"It's very practical," he said. "The coolest thing is, I'm creating energy myself, using the sun."

Svensson, 48, of Ann Arbor took part in the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association's Go Solar program, which offers reduced-cost solar energy system to homeowners. The program has been offered in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, but is now expanding to Oakland County, said Jennifer Malinowski, a program manager for the association.