I hear you. We just moved into our place and I thought I’d tough it out with the solar, but after a week of lukewarm showers, I caved and hit the booster too. I keep telling myself it’s not a fail, just practical. Curious—do you notice a big jump in your bill when you use the booster, or is it not as bad as people say? I’m still figuring out what’s “normal” with this stuff.
I keep telling myself it’s not a fail, just practical.
Honestly, I don’t see how using the booster is a “fail” at all. That’s what it’s there for. If you’re getting lukewarm showers, you’re not getting the benefit of the system anyway.
About the bill—yeah, you’ll notice a bump if you’re running the booster every day, especially in winter or on cloudy stretches. It’s not always as dramatic as people make it out to be, unless your system is old or undersized. But if you’re just topping up after a run of bad weather, it shouldn’t break the bank.
Something I’ve seen a lot: folks forget to check their timers or settings and end up running the booster way longer than needed. Even an hour can make a difference if you time it right (like late afternoon when there’s still some solar gain). It’s trial and error until you get a feel for your setup.
Definitely don’t beat yourself up over using it. Hot water is non-negotiable... no one wants to freeze first thing in the morning.
Honestly, I wouldn’t stress about it. Using the booster when you need to just makes sense—nobody wants a cold shower. I’ve had to do the same after a string of cloudy days. It’s just part of the deal with solar.
I hear you on the booster. I’ve had my solar hot water setup for about five years now, and honestly, I was surprised at how often I still end up flicking the booster on—especially in winter or after a few gloomy days in a row. At first, I thought maybe something wasn’t set up right, or that I was missing some trick to squeeze out more hot water, but after a while, it just became clear that solar’s great... until it isn’t.
One thing I did mess with early on was the timer for the booster. I set it to come on for an hour in the late afternoon, just in case the day hadn’t been sunny enough. That way, I’m not running it all night, but I’m also not getting caught off guard by a cold shower in the morning. It’s not perfect, but it saves a bit on the power bill compared to just leaving it on auto.
I also tried insulating the pipes and the tank a bit better—picked up some of that foam pipe lagging from the hardware store. Didn’t make a huge difference, but I figure every little bit counts, especially in winter when the heat loss is worse.
Honestly, unless you’re super strict about your hot water use or live somewhere that’s sunny 350 days a year, there’s always going to be some compromise. I’ve got friends who swear by adding a second collector panel or a bigger storage tank, but for me, the cost didn’t really stack up against just using the booster now and then.
If you come up with any magic fixes, though, I’d love to hear about it. For now, I just chalk it up as part of the solar experience—great when it works, but not totally foolproof.
That’s actually super helpful to read—my setup’s only a few months old, and I was already starting to wonder if I’d messed something up because the booster’s been working overtime lately. Does your timer kick in automatically if it’s cloudy, or do you just set it and hope for the best? I keep second-guessing whether I should invest in more panels or just accept that lukewarm showers are part of the “eco lifestyle.” Haven’t tried pipe insulation yet, though… maybe that’s my next weekend project.
