Hawaii is the nation’s leader in solar water heating. The combination of our mild, sunny climate; the high cost of grid power; and generous rebates and tax incentives make going solar for water heating an easy, cost-effective and green choice. Solar water heating is so compelling that an independent study commissioned by the state found that 75 percent of Hawaii’s homes will use the sun to heat their water by 2020. Suntech Hawaii installs a new residential hot water heating system nearly every day of the week.

Incentives supporting installations of residential solar water heating are substantial. To start with, a $1,000 rebate is available to homeowners that install a solar water heating system from an approved contractor. The federal government adds a tax credit worth an additional 30 percent of the system cost, up to a limit of $2,000. The State of Hawaii makes available an additional tax credit, which is equal to 35 percent of the project cost up to a maximum of $2,250.

The table below shows the net cost of a solar water heating system after incentives. Depending on the initial system cost, it will take a homeowner about 24-36 months to recoup the cost after incentives on Oahu. On the outer islands, payback is even quicker because energy prices are about 50 percent higher.

Suntech Hawaii uses high-quality SunEarth solar collectors on its solar water heating systems. Click here to visit the SunEarth website.