[rfeather]

It's great that the author wrote up their approach, but one thing I don't see is how this was managed with the landlord. There is some clue in that the landlord installed the solar water heater. My interest comes from my belief that my landlord (or more likely the condo association that our apartment is in) would never allow this sort of installation. Aside from "aesthetic concerns", solar panels can potentially cause insurance rates to go up (firefighters don't like to douse electricity generators with water).

[dublinben]

Solar hot water panels do not generate electricity. They heat up a fluid (glycol) which is used to heat up your water.

[rfeather]

I'm referring to the PV panels the author mentioned putting on his window sill. Agreed that the hot water system isn't a fire concern.