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Selling solar: solar power seems less like an 'alternative' form of energy these days.

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In the past year since we first published a supplement on solar thermal energy called the Solar Installer, we've read more articles about the subject, heard more interest from our readers and seen more solar energy products on display.

While solar energy to heat hot water still falls under the category of "alternative energy," we think that with all the press the sun has received lately, this is the year solar energy is beginning to feel more mainstream. This is our first edition of the year of what we've renamed the Solar Heating Report. We'll follow this with two more reports in July and November.

Here are a couple different ways contractors are capitalizing on the interest in tapping the sun for heat in the commercial and residential markets.

Dollars And Sense

"Building owners aren't looking at just up-front costs for a heating system any longer, but at the total cost of operation," says Craig Ouimette, service manager at Cardinal Heating, Sun Prairie, Wis.

A good place to start may be energy-efficient boilers, such as the condensing models Ouimette used on a new 40-bed, 26,000-square-foot assisted-living facility. But from there, Ouimette was able to sell the builder on...

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