Solar Hotwater for a Rental Property

[Matt Leonard]

I have a 4-unit property in Maine that I provide heat & hot water that are currently off of the oil fired boiler.  Looking at yearly summary, i spent 7k on oil last year.  It is cost prohibitive to install 3 new heating systems to separate them out and put it on the tenant (my first choice.)  I do have plenty of South facing roof space and I am thinking of installing solar hot water panels to preheat the water for DHW and the heating system.  Has anyone looked into or done this at any of their properties?

[Tucker Smith]

Have considered installing an electric hot water tank for each of the units? They are relatively inexpensive compared to gas fired heaters and they can be added to each unit’s existing electric panel. You can leave the existing heating system and let each unit be responsible for their own hot water bills. I did this for a four unit building I own and it has reduced my oil bill considerably.