Gainesville Regional Utilities - Solar Water Heating Rebate Program

September 30, 2014

Summary

The Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) Solar Rebate Program, established in early 1997 as part of GRU's demand-side management initiatives, provides rebates of $500 to residential customers of GRU who install solar water heating systems. Customers must be an existing GRU customer using an electric water heater or natural gas water heater, where the natural gas is supplied by GRU. Both passive solar systems, which must be of the double-glazed integrated collector storage type, and closed-loop active solar systems are eligible for rebates.

To qualify for the rebate program, a solar system must have current Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) approval, the system's performance must have current FSEC certification, and contractors must be currently certified to install solar water heaters by the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board. The collector should be oriented to face within 45 degrees of due South and must be tilted between 15 and 40 degrees of horizontal, but collectors that are oriented and tilted in another direction can qualify for the rebate if they are pre-approved by GRU. A minimum 80-percent solar window evidenced by a valid Solar Pathfinder report is also required by GRU.