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Solar Hot Water & Electric Water Heating with Solar
Water heating can be a third of a home’s energy use. How to run it on solar with timers, heat pump boosters, and smart diverters.
WaterFuelAndSolarEnergy.com Editorial Team Updated December 2024 7 min read
Water heating is often the second-largest household energy use after space conditioning. Running it during solar hours — or with a solar diverter — is a classic, low-tech win.
Options ranked by simplicity
- Timer so the element heats in the solar window
- Smart relay that energises from solar surplus
- Solar diverter that sends excess solar to the element
- Heat-pump water heater for 2–3× efficiency
Is a solar diverter worth it?
If you regularly export large solar surpluses, yes — it uses that energy at home for free rather than selling it at a low feed-in rate.