Arrgh. Scott sometimes mistakes his ignorance for wit. He could've outfitted his home with heat-pipe solar thermal collectors, like the Thermomax ones. These things work well, even in the winter, even in cloudy, chilly old England, where they were designed. I suspect they'd do a pretty bang-up job in California. Connecting those up to the hot water heating the floors would've taken a big chunk out of his carbon footprint, even if he couldn't heat his home completely with them. They're worth it just for the hot-water preheat.

http://www.thermomax.com/