Albemarle County, the county surrounding the city of Charlottesville, lies at the foot of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains and is just a short drive away from the Shenandoah Valley. It is here– and in the surrounding counties of Fluvanna, Nelson, Greene, Louisa, Orange and Madison– that Bill Ware and High Caliber Construction are building custom homes as well as major additions and renovations.
As the first decade of the 21st century has unfolded, we have seen more and more interest in “Green” products and systems. Among these are Solar Hot Water systems which are coming closer and closer to High Caliber’s Common Sense ConservationSM parameters (3 to 5 year payback).
Residential Solar Hot Water systems begin with the collection devices which are typically located on the roof; these devises generally fall into either the “flat panel” or “evacuated tube” categories; for our neck of the woods, the flat panels and evacuated tubes are similar in efficiency and price. Both types of systems typically utilize a well-insulated, high-efficiency hot water tank which, fueled by either electricity or gas, provides the “backup” energy for water heating.
These Solar Hot Water systems generally range in the $8,000 to $9,000 price range for a 4 to 5 bedroom home and would appear to have an 8 to 12 year payback period (at current utility costs) with an expected life of around 15 years. It would not take much of a spike in energy costs to put this in the “standard equipment” category.
Bill Ware, President
High Caliber Construction
Charlottesville, Virginia