Getting into hot water in Meze

Meze, where we are living, is in the south of France.  It is therefore quite feasible to utilize solar heat.

The roof of our "vigneron", seen here, has, in addition to a number of skylights, a large solar panel for heating water.  It has supplied all the hot water for our requirements to date, including showers, laundry, dishwasher, etc for a family of five.

The panel is connected to a storage tank located in the third (or as the french would say, second) storey of our apartment.

Of course, the system only works reliably as long as there is enough sun (even a hazy day will do it!)  Once the "damp season" sets in, and there are a number of heavily overcast days in a row, alternative arrangements are required.

Enter the demand hot water heater.  Rare in North America, these are as common as, well, houses in Europe.  They operate on gas, and provide hot water for washing etc, as well as for hot water central heating, as and when required.  But of course they provide the hot water only when it is required.

To date, we have not had to use any gas, and likely will not have to until November or so.

It is a great system, particularly because of the solar component.  Although this is the perfect area for such systems, because of the amount of sunlight, solar heating is, regrettably, not that common in France.