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We just finished a great install in Burley, ID at a large modern dairy farm.  The install consisted of a 30 panel solar thermal system.  The system has 1500 gallons of solar thermal storage capacity.  The system is designed to provide 1000 gallons of water a day at 165 degree temperature.

Each one of the solar panels offsets 1 ton of carbon emissions per year or 30 tons in total each year and 600 tons over the life of the project.  The economics of the system estimate that the net payback should be accomplished in less than 1 year.  The project was  assisted int he installation with grants from the USDA REAP program and from the US Treasury 1603 Grant.

The project is up and running as designed.

A little over a year ago we installed a solar thermal system at the Dirt Buster Car Wash in Fruitland, ID.  The system was designed and installed to reduce the Natural Gas consumed in heating the hot water for washing cars and the radiant floor heating in the wash bays.

The natural gas was turned off in April of this year and we estimate that the gas will be turned back on in October.  The system provides about half of the energy load for the facility in the winter months.

This installation paid for itself in approximately 1 year.

The Dairy installation that was completed in January in Castleford, ID is operating to plan and is producing ~ 1000 gallons of 165 degree water from the energy of the sun.  This hot water is used in cleaning up the milk barn for a modern dairy facility.  This system will also pay for itself in less than 1 year.

How would you like to satisfy 20% of your typical household energy bill with the same energy it takes to power a 60 watt light bulb?  That is basically how a solar thermal system works.  You only pay for the energy required to run a .3 amp circulation pump to harvest the energy supplied from the sun in ultra-violet and infrared rays.  The Department of Energy estimates that 20% of your total energy consumed in your house goes to heating the water.

I highly recommend that you look into this concept and save yourself $ and improve your environmental impact at the same time.   I have had my system installed for 2.5 years and I enjoy a steamy hot free shower each day.  What a great way to start your day off on a positive step right out of the gate.

Please contact me for more information on how you can take the first step towards a sustainable lifestyle. carl@www.renewableenergynwllc.com

We just completed a GREAT install in Nampa, ID where we installed a 2 Mystic panel system on the roof of a custom home in Nampa.    We penetrated the roof and ran the water lines in the chase areas of the second floor back to the garage.  We mounted the solar storage tank above the pressure tank for the well.  The customers are very satisfied with the clean look and performance of the system.  There are no connections from the roof to the solar storage tank in the garage.  The external lines are insulated to ~R19 levels.  The expected payback for this system should be less than 2 years.

We installed 2 controllers for the job. 1) Solar Controller to turn on the circulation pump when the panel is warmer than the solar water.  2) Heating control loop starts the circulation pump when the HEAT is called for and when we have 120 degree water in the solar storage tank.

We just completed a really exciting installation in Coeur D’ Alene -Idaho.  This install included a 96 % efficient gas furnace (most efficient model), an 16 SEER Rated Air Conditioner (most efficient model), two 50 gallon hot water heaters, two Mystic Panel solar thermal systems, two controllers and a water to air heat exchanger.    The net cost of all this to the home owner after incentives will be less than $8k AMAZING VALUE!

This install did offer some unique challenges with a very steep roof to mount the solar panels on.    We overcame this challenge and ended up with a great install and another satisfied customer.

If your HVAC system is more than 10 years old or if you are building a home in the Northwest you should contact us to assist on your comfort heat/cool and your sustainable solution for the lowest affordable cost.