> I think the real reason nobody does solar thermal is because it's just so much less practical to deal with pipes and pumps and heat reservoirs than wires and batteries.
It very much depends where one is located. My parents' house, in a subtropical climate region, has had solar thermal for over 2 decades. Now they've also installed PV panels, but hot water is still mainly solar thermal with electrical heating as supplement.
New houses also have dual setups like theirs. Solar thermal collectors for hot water + PV for other electric usage and selling the excess to the grid.
> Also it is useless in the summer when you don't need heating.
You still do need some water heating in the summer.
It very much depends where one is located. My parents' house, in a subtropical climate region, has had solar thermal for over 2 decades. Now they've also installed PV panels, but hot water is still mainly solar thermal with electrical heating as supplement.
New houses also have dual setups like theirs. Solar thermal collectors for hot water + PV for other electric usage and selling the excess to the grid.
> Also it is useless in the summer when you don't need heating.
You still do need some water heating in the summer.