https://stream.echo6.co/videos/watch/7e810872-40bf-4569-aa3e-1b844a3f0cee Ask This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey explains the complexities of today’s solar-power systems. (See below for steps.) SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse Steps for Understanding Solar Power: Solar thermal panels are used to create domestic hot water. The panels are filled with antifreeze or evacuated tubes., A typical thermal-panel system can produce 65 to 70 percent of a home’s hot water needs., A photovoltaic (PV) system transforms the sun’s energy into direct current (DC) electricity., An inverter mounted inside the house converts the DC power to standard alternating current (AC), which is then used to power lights, appliances, and other electrical devices., If the PV system produces more electricity than you can use, the excess gets sent back to the power company and you receive a credit on your electric bill., Solar companies are now offering power purchase agreements to homeowners, which include a free solar system in exchange for government rebates., About Ask This Old House TV: Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook. Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House: Facebook: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter http://bit.ly/AskTOHTwitter Pinterest: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest Instagram: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG http://bit.ly/AskTOHIG Tumblr: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTumblr For more on This Old House and Ask This Old House, visit us at: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseWebsite Understanding Solar Power | Ask This Old House https://www.youtube.com/user/thisoldhouse/ Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:56:50 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://stream.echo6.co https://stream.echo6.co/client/assets/images/icons/icon-512x512.png https://stream.echo6.co/videos/watch/7e810872-40bf-4569-aa3e-1b844a3f0cee All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://stream.echo6.co/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.