The sun: A wasted resource

I am still waiting for my government to stop squandering our money in refusing to utilise our only free energy resource, namely the sun. The only place where solar water heating is absolutely cost effective is in a hospital or any collective dwelling, like hotels, prisons, army barracks, heated pools etc. I can now relate my experience.

It is three months since I have had a solar water heater installed. I have never so far switched on the element in the tank yet the water is at most times too hot to use unless diluted up to 50 per cent. On one day in April there was no direct sun yet on the following morning the water was pleasantly warm to shower under. I wash under a shower to save water and not to wallow in the not-so-clean water.

It is a pity the smallest unit one can buy is a 120-litre tank, one panel unit. This is double what a couple really requires. With our sun you must dilute through the mixer at the rate of fifty-fifty or risk scalding badly. Now in a hospital, where hot water is constantly in demand, the unit is constantly in use. We should even go for heating the wards in another closed-circuit, independent system.Whatever heat we could garner to heat hospitals etc. during the day we should go for it. I was accused of blurred vision when I mooted this idea a few moths ago. I now insist with eyes wide open that our money be used wisely and not have to pay penalties for not reducing gas emissions. This is sure hedging.