It has been recognized that solar water heating systems are economically inferior to conventional gas water-heaters and boilers using light oil as fuel in spite of having practical possibilities among other alternative energy facilities in Korea. The solar system, however, should be revaluated due to the sharp rise of oil prices recently. We have calculated the energy amount and cost through a series of research projects for the system by experiment and simulation, which lead to analyzing reliable life cycle costs. For the economic analysis, the gas water-heater and light oil boiler were taken as base cases while the solar systems implemented with these facilities were compared as alternatives. As a result, the solar system using the light oil as an auxiliary fuel surpassed the light oil boiler in economics. And a $50\%$ government subsidy for the initial cost is needed to maintain competitiveness with the gas hot-water heater. With this support, the simple payback period of the system can approach 12.8 years under $20\%$ additional curtailment of expenditure.