[freebeard]

The so-called Clothesline Paradox applies here.

www.ioes.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Solar-Water-Heating-Report_Final.pdf

1.1 Background
Limited availability of natural gas and abundant sunshine made solar water heating
(SWH) systems an attractive choice for consumers during the end of the 19th and early
20th centuries.1 Prior to the 1930s, a limited natural gas distribution network and high
energy prices drove demand for domestic solar water heating systems. In 1897, one-third
of homes in Pasadena had solar water heaters.2 In the next several decades thousands of
additional units were installed in California.3,4 Consumers could heat water year-round
without having to use a stove, saving fuel and keeping residences cooler during the
summer months.5
During the 1930s, falling natural gas prices, urbanization, and incentives for consumers
to switch to gas water heaters led to the displacement of solar thermal technology from
the domestic market.6 Fluctuations in energy prices during the 1970s and 1980s had a
modest positive impact on demand for solar thermal, but as of 2009 more than 90% of
households in California have gas or electric water heaters.

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I'll defend coal because I like being the bad guy.

Which is what we like about you.