The Tank

Down in the basement is where the hot water tank resides. Originally, I was not looking for a solar system, but for a stone lined hot water heater to replace my 11 year old unit. I wanted a stone lined tank because they basically last forever. As it turned out, Solar Energy Services, Inc. is Vaughn's mid-Atlantic dealer. Vaughn Corporation is located in Salisbury, Massachusetts and makes hydrastone lined water heaters. For my application, we chose a Solar SEPCO 120gal tank with electric backup and single 20sf heat exchanger. This tank is more than enough to meet my family's needs for hot water without the solar input to it. With the solar panels connected, it should make about 70% of the hot water I use from the sun, greatly reducing my electrical use. Here is a picture of the installed system in my basement...the large white tank is the Vaughn solar tank. The big blue tank is my well pump pressure tank and not related to the solar install.

From My Solar Hot Water System