Solar Water Heating

[juiced]

Im just curious if anyone in Canada can use a solar water heater all year?

   It regularly gets to -50 after windsheild, which would apply to hot pipes outside.

    So how does a system like this work, or does it?

        Could one potentally use a hybrid solar/geo system? When the sun is out you get power, while the geo cools the house, and while the sun is away, you could heat your walls and panels with the geothermal sys....

[chibear]

Follow my diary for the next couple of years. I am setting up a system 60 miles North of Winnipeg, Manitoba on Lake Winnipeg (and yes the -50 wind chills). This winter I'm running on propane and woodstove only. Next spring I'll add the solar loop, so will have a direct comparison as to how well the system works.

Cooling is not a consideration for us. I can count the number of days in the summer I would have liked air conditioning and on one hand with fingers to spare. Lake Winnipeg does our cooling. It seems that the hotter the summer day, the stronger the breeze off the lake.