Solar hot water is only for water. As the name suggests, a solar hot water system only provides heated water and can't power your electric appliances. To use solar energy to power the rest of your home, you'll have to install a photovoltaic (PV) solar energy system, which produces usable electricity for your property.
Still, I do save a fortune on my heating bills. The advantages of having a solar water heating system in your home are huge and if you bear the pain (actually I quite enjoyed my project) of building it yourself then it can also be done extremely cheaply. Take a look at this page about www.think-solar-power.com, for more information. oPDoZD.