X-Message-Number: 24670 Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 13:16:36 +0300 From: olaf henny <> Subject: Energy Savings (Off Topic) Hi All: This message will be brief. I am writing it on a very unfamilıar keybord in Sel uk, Turkey. I have particular problems wıth the letter "i", wich sometimes comes out "ı" arriving abroad in various intrepretations. During my two months trip through Germany and Turkey, I was amazed to see the number of solar water heaters in both countries. Im Germany they were neatly built into the roofing of recently constructed homes similar to skylights, with tanks and piping "hidden" in the attics, here in Turkey, with a lesser emphasis on esthetics, the whole assembly is crudely displayed on the roofs of the vast majority of the houses. My admittedly crude estimate of savings in costs for water heating in houses thus equipped reaches from 90% here to 60% in Anatolia, to at least 40% in some of the less sunny regions near the Black Sea. A cousin of mine ın Germany tells me, that water from his heaters installed on a covenient south facing hillside 10 m (30') from the house arrives there at a temperature of up to 80^C (176^F). That is a lot hotter, than most gas water heaters are set, and it is achieved in a climate that is a lot less sunny than most of North America. Look at your summer gas bill, which is almost exclusively based on usage for water heating, and you will see that the savngs could be HUGE nation wide. In my particular area in Canada gas billing separates costs for infrastructure and administration (I/A) from actual usage of gas. In order to be an effective incentive for savings, I/A would have to be integrated into the unit price. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=24670