Testimonials
Mr Urquhart
The Urquharts installed their Solahart 300 litre system on 29 June 1985 at their Gunnedah home and have brought up two children on its continuous and reliable supply of hot water.
"Our daughter Fiona was two years old when we started using the system and the greatest demand on the system was washing her cloth nappies in hot water," said Mr Urquhart. "When boosting was necessary, the system heated quickly so even then it was very rare not have hot water."
"The system required little maintenance – only four visits over 23 years", says Mr Urquhart.
Dorothy Lenton
Dorothy Lenton, 74, from Mackay suffered through cold showers before installing her new solar hot water system in winter last year. Even during the recent summer floods in Mackay, Mrs Lenton's system delivered hot water.
"Even in dull days – and we've had a lot of dull days lately - I still have hot water. It's just so good to have one (solar water heater)," says Mrs Lenton.
"It keeps my power bills down and I feel good because I know it's helping the environment."
Mr Ersman
Proving actions speak louder than words, Barry Ersman, the organiser of the Sustainable Maleny project bought a solar water heater for his own home, and his mother followed his example. Some families even bought multiple units for their home.
"Ours is doing much better than our old electric system. We're chuffed," says Mr Ersman.
According to Mr Ersman, the solar water heater drive was just one example of the difference communities can make.
"There's only so much you can do as an individual but if you form a collective effort, there’s another order of magnitude in what you can achieve," says Mr Ersman.
Ian and Edna Berlin
Ipswich couple Ian and Edna Berlin replaced their Solahart system with a new one in the middle of June after it provided them with 32 years of hot water.
Edna's father had the system installed in 1976 after becoming fed up with the inconvenience of ferrying water heated by a combustion stove from the kitchen to the bathroom.
After providing the Berlin family with decades of hot water, picking a Solahart system the second time around was an easy decision.
"We got a great run out of the old system and only needed the booster when we experienced days of grey skies. Now that our kids have married and moved out, we very rarely turn on the booster," says Edna.
While the savings to the environment were a big drawcard, the cheaper energy bills really won them over. They said friends and neighbours paid about $300-$400 a month to heat their water while they paid about $150.
Rhona Macleod
Rhona Macleod of Minto purchased a solar water heating system this year because she was attracted to the financial savings.
"Even though I live on my own, the savings that come with solar water heating will outweigh the initial installation cost. With rising interest rates and higher fuel prices, we should be doing as much as possible to reduce our energy costs and save the environment."
Stephen Musgrave
Stephen Musgrave from Appin had solar water heating installed because of the environmental and financial benefits.
"The savings are already evident and very welcome at a time when fuel prices are skyrocketing through the roof."
Eric Harvey
Southeast of Dubbo on a 7,000 acre farm, Eric Harvey installed one of the biggest Solahart water heaters money can buy – the 443 Thermasiphon – on a restored century old home, built in 1901.
On top of their environmental benefits, Mr Harvey sings the praises of lower energy costs from renewable energy.
"Where you can put solar in, we put solar in."
Damien Pfeiffer
Damien Pfeiffer of Dubbo had the Streamline Gas Boost DKV 272 installed. Asked what drove his decision, he said he wanted to leave the world "a better place" for the next generation.
"I decided to get the Solahart system installed for a couple of reasons. Growing awareness about the environment and the small things people can do to make a difference culminated with the price of electricity which just keeps going up."