Solar Hot Water Cost Analysis for 50 Unit Apt Buildings in CA, AZ, OR, and NV

We’ve been playing around with our new solar thermal calculators, and we just thought we’d share some interesting cost comparisons. We took the example of a 50 unit apartment building and plugged in four different Western states: California, Arizona, Oregon, and Nevada.

You can see the full numbers below, but to our surprise, guess which state had the fastest return on investment (ROI) for this 50 unit building? Without the calculator, I would have guessed California. No brainer, right?

Wrong. Hands down, in these four states, the fastest solar hot water ROI for this 50 unit apartment building example is the great solar state of Arizona at a little over a year. And the worst? Nevada, with an ROI over 11 years. That being said, solar thermal systems can last for 25 years or more, so even in Nevada, solar thermal is a valuable investment.

The full numbers are below, but you can always run them again for yourself. Better yet, play, have fun by:

• Changing the parameters to larger or smaller apartment buildings and do your own case studies.
• Plugging in any of the other 50 states and Puerto Rico
• Changing the parameters from an apartment building to a hotel, restaurant, one of the other listed categories.

Keep in mind, however, that these are estimated retail costs. If you’re a Free Hot Water solar installer or distributor, you’ll of course benefit from substantial discounts off the estimated installed costs.

(Click twice to enlarge)

(Click twice to enlarge)

(Click twice to enlarge)

(Click twice to enlarge)