GOLDEN, CO - The US Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has teamed with American Dream Builders based in Naples and North Point, FL, to put solar water heating systems on new Florida homes. The effort is part of a subcontract under DOE's Solar Buildings Program to improve solar water heating technology and to better understand public acceptance of solar water heating products. The program's aim is to combine solar energy technology with energy-efficient construction techniques to help create a new generation of cost-effective buildings that have zero net annual need for fossil fuel energy.

NREL's Tim Merrigan, who lived in Florida for 30 years, manages technology development for the Solar Buildings Program. "By installing a solar water heater on a typical home in Florida, a homeowner will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 5,000 pounds per year," Merrigan said. "To put that in perspective, that's about the same amount of CO2 emitted in a year by a fuel-efficient car."

For more information on solar water heating technology, visit DOE's Solar Buildings Program online at www.eren.doe.gov/solarbuildings.