Alternative energy for my home.

Those are both good ideas, but wouldn't a wind turbine generator be a better option due to the limited solar exposure?  I know I'm talking electricity vs hot water, but I wonder if that wouldn't provide a better bang for your buck since you are watching your return on investment?  Just a thought...  Good Luck!

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Sustainable Modern Homesteading - http://www.lifeunplugged.net

Mr. LeMay, Do you have an attic and typical pitched roof?  In 1984, in Wash. state I created a passive heating system in Burlington, located 60 miles south of the Canadian border.  My system has produced 90 % of all heating for a building 95' X 55' and 3 stories tall.  The original "solar" heating unit cost nothing.  The attic space is the solar unit.  I used a remote sensor located a distance of 30" from the peak inside a 4 in 12 pitched comp black roof.  I had installed a "Hot-Water" furnace on the first floor with a used hot-water radiator inside the typical squirrel cage fan system.  I installed a 8" duct pipe into the top of the return air duct to squirrel cage vertical duct pipe.  This pipe simply followed the roof pitch to inside next to the sensor unit. The first time this "complicated" system produced 65 degree heat occurred on Dec 23, 1984.  My building temperate was 66 deg. from the gas boilers system. I was sweeping the first floor and the boiler system was turned off. I heard the fan system start and entered the boiler room to turn the remote sensor above 65 to see if the fan would stop.  It stopped at 67 degree's and came back on at 65 deg. Guess what was happening outside?  I went outside at 2 PM and it was snowing and 28 degrees.  Three inches of snow had accumulated on the roof surface.  This system has operated for 24 years and the average natural gas bill has been $6 per month.  Does this help you?  I built 4 more projects from Bellingham to Vancouver WA.  In Van. I added "Passive" air-conditioning to the solar heating system.  The system was built to operate with no input from any person.  This system has operated since 1988 with no repairs or changes.  The building is 74 x 144 x 2 stories.  The inside temperature is "automatically" kept at 68 degree.  The system I designed automatically changes at night to cool the building to the desired temperature and if heat is need it is automatically adjusted to +/- five degree from 68 static,  The average natural gas cost for the complete building was $500 a year or $1.37 per day.  Does this help you with your problem?  This system requires an attic to create the cool/hot air system to work.  An added bonus with this final design was the "automatic" air conditioning aspect when needed with no adjustment to the thermostat set at 65 degree.  The air conditioning system was totally "automatic" with no input by manager.