The solar heaters (uaing heat from sun not using solar panels to heat it) work amazingly well in the south. But just having the tank on the roof works equally well…apartments are where it gets impossible.
With the stainless tanks on the roof during summer i have had to go up and wrap shade cloth around them cause the water is too hot. But when they refill it gets cooold.
Electric heaters, not on demand style, work great and the timer idea above is golden. Turn off when not used turn on 20 mins prior. Easy and efficient. Good one! We did that but never thought of a timer…damnit.
You can set two on and off times per day. Ideally you could set a different temperature for different time ranges and on and off times, but I didn’t see any models that could.
I’m planning to look into the AC units this winter. Nothing installed yet. Looking at heat pump units is a good idea though if I could have AC and heating from a single unit for a decent price.
The big water tank is on the first floor right at the side of apartment. The water then goes up to the roof though because that’s where our whole house filter is installed. In my old apartments it was suggested on the roof, but the water pressure is great with this method.