Well, here are a couple reasons…

• Shower showers can save you money in water heating costs (traditional gas water heaters are big energy sucks since they’re continually heating and reheating water 24/7).
• You can tie a solar shower into a rain catchment system, meaning you don’t have to use water from the city grid to bathe (check the regulations regarding rain catchment and allowed uses in your area).
• You can shower outside and enjoy nature (watch out for peeping neighbors).
• You need more DIY projects! This is the perfect chance to practice your MacGyver skills in the backyard.

Okay, that’s all well and good, but is building a hot solar shower tough or is it something anyone can do?  Are there ready-made kits or do you have to go the DIY route?

Let’s look around and see what people are up to…

DIY vs. Ready-Made Solar Shower Kits

A quick look at Amazon shows us that there are indeed solar shower kits, but they’re really geared toward campers or folks who just want to hose off poolside.  Typically the kits just have you fill a bucket and prop it above the showerhead where the water can warm in the sun. There’s not usually much capacity.

If you want something more sophisticated that actually heats up enough water for the family, then you’re going to have to traipse into do-it-yourself land.  Fortunately, there are quite a few stories (and even videos) of folks who have built a solar shower and shared their experiences.  Since this is something I’ve yet to do (the whole Pacific-Northwest-largely-cloudy climate hasn’t inspired me to do much with solar yet), I’ll refer you to some great articles out there on the web:

• 20 Gallon Solar Hot Water Shower — Materials list, instructions, and pictures to boot.
• Solar Hot Water Batch Collector — This one involves building a largish holding tank for the water and then running several systems (including an outdoor shower) off the heated water.
• Weekly DIY Solar Shower — Based of the system the Dervaes family made on their urban lot in California.

And lest you think this is an easy home improvement, you may want to watch these videos on YouTube:

DIY Solar Hot Water Shower Pt 1
DIY Solar Hot Water Shower Pt 2

If you decide to try to your hand at a solar shower, let us know how it turns out!

But I’m starting to do the numbers so that when I have the cash, I can take that step.  I hunted down some information on the cost of installing solar panels, so let me share that here for anyone else who is considering the upgrade (quotes below come from the Jan/Feb ‘09 issue of “Natural Home Magazine”).

Average Cost of Installing Photovoltaic (PV) Panels

“For PV, about $30,000 to $50,000 for a 3- to 6-kW system (without incentives). For a rough estimate of the system size you need, divide the number of kWh you use per month by 150.”

Apparently, it’s less expensive to install solar power in mild climates.  Severe climates need more complex systems.  It’s also worth noting that if you live somewhere that sees a lot of snowfall in the winter, you’ll need to place those panels somewhere convenient so you can access them to clear off the snow. Hey, you were looking for another use for that snow shovel anyway, right?

When considering costs, you may also want to check into your county’s policy on buying back energy.  In my county, the electric company credits your bill if you actually create excess energy.  (Solar systems can can be set up to pump what you don’t need back into the city grid.)

Cost of Installing a Solar Hot Water Heater

If you’re not ready to spend a fortune on a system that can get you completely off the energy grid, you might want to start small, such as with a solar-powered hot water heater.

With these systems, solar collectors can be mounted on the roof or on the ground.  They contain fluid-filled tubes that are warmed by the sun, then circulated to a storage tank to supply the home’s hot-water taps.

“For a solar hot water system, prices without incentives will vary from about $1,800 to $8,000 for systems that will reduce hot water energy use by 50 to 70 percent.”