b'hard about getting back into the solar waterheaterbusiness - abusiness that boomedinthe1930\'sand\'40\'s, thenquicklydiedaselectricityand natural gas became cheaper. Now, gas and electricity prices show signs of soaring and W.R. Robbins Jr., along with other roofers is saying that heaters using the sun to warm water for showers and dishwashing might be practical again. "Evenattoday\'sprices- and they\'re bound to go higher - the solar heater would pay for itself in five or six years or so," Robbins says. "They\'refascinatingthings,"Robbins says. "Once you getin, you can \'em just sit back and watch \'em work for you. You don\'t have to do athing." Nobodyhasactivelypricedthe heatersagainyet,butRobbinsis getting at least one letter a day from across the nation about the devices and he figures it might be time to go into production. One resident,who movedout of a houseequippedwithasolarheater several years ago,says he wisheshe still had it. "I\'ll tell you one thing," he said, "I was never out of hot water, and it was scalding hot."SOLAR ONE house al Newark, Delaware. Small shed to right of house contains batteries for energy storage. Sun and wind: new energy sources Courtesy:Lead Industries Assn. E nergyfrom the sun or wind, storedallforeigncountries.Theuseofsolarpoweremergenciesbyoverridingthe in lead acid batteries, may soon beenergyforresidential dwellingsis onlyinternal system, disconnecting the house providi~gelectricitytolightandheata small part of the proposed use of thisfromtheutility,andworkfromarehomes and to run major and small appli naturalresource.Solarscientistsindi strveof tnergystoredforthat specific ances.catethatapproximately20to60perpurpose. A system to convert sunlight into elec cent of the energy nowusedforhomesEnergyreservescanbestoredina tricenergyforresidentialdwellingsiscould be saved if most of the housing innumberofways.Leadacidbatteries in use and plans are underway to installthe United States were heated wholly orconstituteone ofthesimplest, mostdea wind-generated electrical power sourcein part by solar energy.ptndableandreadilyavailablemeans in another home.The basis for converting solar energyofstoring tnergyfor futureuses.They Theseprototypehomesareadirectintoheat andelectricity istheinstalla also possess theuniqueability of being resultoftheenergycrisiswhichhastionof solarconversion systems.Theseable todeliver large amounts of energy prompted asearchfornewalternativessystemsvary.Oneinvolvescirculatingquicklyinashortperiodoftime,or tofossil fuelsasasorceof electricitywater to be heated by the sun\'s rays andsmallamountsof energyoverlongpeandheat.Solarenergy-converting thethenstored .for lateruseininsulation.riods of time. sun\'sraysintousable energy~appearsAnotherexposesinexpensivesalthy Lead aci9 batteries are cunently being tobeoneoftheleadingcandidatesatdratestoairwarmedbythesunlight,utilizedforenergystorageinSOLAR thistimetoaugmentfossilfuelsandwhichmeltbytheactionofthesun\'sONE, an experimental solar homebuilt thereareestimatesthatsuchsystemsheat and then condense at night and giveby the University of Delaware\'s Institute couldbewidelyusedby1980.Solaroff the stored heat. These systems wouldofEnergyConversion(IEC),inNewenergy is abundantlyavailable and canprovide supplemental electrical and ther ark,Delaware.Thishouseisthefirst be converted directly into electricity andmal energy from solar inputs in amountssuchstructurethatincorporatesasysheat.varyingupto80percent ofthe totaltemfordirectlyconvertingsunlightto Accordingtosomeprojections,solarpowerdemand,dependingupongeo bothheatandelectricityfordomestic energycouldsupplyuptoapproxi graphicallocation.Theywouldoperateuse.Dr.K. W.Boer, Director of theInmately 15 per cent of the country\'s na in conjunction with local powerutilitiesstitute,isresponsibleforboththecontional energy needs- more than is cur whichwouldsupplythebalanceofceptofsolarconversionsystemsdevelrentlysuppliedbyhydro-electricandpowerwhenneeded.Solarconversionoped for the house and for the construcnuclear power plants combined. Justassystems would alleviate a sizable amounttion of SOLAR ONE. It incorporates the importantisthefactthatsolarpowerof the powerdrainageduring hoursofuse of 20,12-volt, SO-ampere hourlead also can produce more energy than thatpeak demand. They would also offer theacid batteries.(see next page) providedbycurrentoilimportsfrompossibilityofpower-on-demandduring ABC, May19747'