Category: Idaho Solar

One of the biggest challenges for for most dairy farmers in the Magic Valley is to chill the fresh milk in the holding tank as quickly and as gently as possible. Doing so maximizes the milk-fat percent in the saleable milk.  This is hopefully accomplished with an energy-efficient chiller which then captures the heat offset using free heaters to pre-heat the water for process clean-up.  The next opportunity is heating the rest of the process water which needs to be 180 degrees for clean-ups.

Renewable Energy NorthWest, LLC (RENW) of Star, Idaho and Progressive Dairy Service (PDS) of Jerome, Idaho recently partnered together to tackle these issues in a collaborative method at the Dairy Farm of William Bokma in Twin Falls, Idaho..  PDS is in the process of installing new Mueller chillers and compressors at the Bokma Dairy  and are expected to save the operation $2,500 per year in energy costs over the current system.  The big gain on the new chilling system comes in the improvement in the milk-fat percentage in the milk. The project expects to improve the milk-fat percentage by 15%.   A new free heater is also being installed to capture the heat that is generated in the chilling process.

Renewable Energy NorthWest just completed their portion of this project by installing 20 – 30 tube evacuated panels. The new panels are  expected to generate 1,000 gallons of 180 degree water on a daily basis.  During the commissioning period and after some modifications on the current water flow process, the milk tank wash down hit 158 degrees. The usual tank washes were 140 degrees.  The 158 degree wash was accomplished with free energy from the sun.  Each solar thermal panel offsets approximately three tons of carbon each year of production.   The expected life of the system is twenty years or offsetting 1,200 tons of carbon.

This Renewable Energy Solution project is funded in part by the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).  The expected payback on the project including all the equipment discussed in this article – is less than six months after grants and incentives.   The College of Southern Idaho (CSI) in Twin Falls, Idaho  was represented in the project with three students and two  faculty members from the Renewable Energy Program.  The students and faculty members were able to see, assist and learn that this program provides the best return value on investment for available renewable energy products.  One of the students commented,  “It’s good to get some hands-on experience with this product.”

 

The chillers were just installed and initially we are seeing great results.  Prior to the project the milk would enter the holding tanks at 84 degrees.   The milk is now entering at 37 degrees.  We are all excited to see the improvement gains for this project. 

Three Rivers Calf Farm in Parma, ID raises 10,000 heifer calves for the dairy industry.  The calves start out being bottle fed with pasteurized hospital milk from dairies and topped off with dry milk mixed with hot water.  The calves are fed twice daily with each calf consuming 2 gallons of 100 degree milk each day.  The operations center is also heated with radiant floor heating.   The calf farm maintains the cleanliness of the operations by washing equipment with 170 degree water.

The solar thermal farm consists of 80 – 30 tube panels generating 4,000 gallons of 170 degree water each day.  This equates to 4 million BTU’s of energy created from the suns radiation.

This project was  fortunate to receive a USDA REAP grant for 25% of the cost of the project.  The project included 2- 1500 gallon insulated tanks for hot water storage, 2 1.5 million BTU/hr boilers, radiant floor heating and the solar thermal farm.

The project is operating as designed and the farm has seen significant reduction in the consumption of propane.

 

The RENW team just completed a great new install for an Idaho home owner.  We installed 3 Bryant Evolution 21 SEER heat pump with 97% efficient Gas auxiliary heating, 4 solar thermal panels, RHEEM Tankless water heater, Pool Heat pump, solar pool heating and a water to air heat exchanger to assist heating the home in the winter.

This project is estimated to improve the overall energy costs of the home by 40%, taking advantage of the latest and best technology available.

The home owner will feel no difference in hot water heating, home comfort or pool heating.  The system was designed and installed with backup energy solutions taking advantage of the lowest cost energy first.

The home owners are happy with the holistic solution for there home.

It was really great to see so many faces new and old at the West Idaho State Fair recently!

The weather was great and brought in lots of sunshine for all of our visitors – giving us a perfect chance to show off our solar hot water solutions! Truth is though, I don’t mind overcast or even slightly cloudy days when I’m out doing trade shows because it gives me a chance to demonstrate the fact that our solar technology works great – even in the shade!

The look on people’s face is great when I take one of our tubes that has been under the shade and ask them to put their finger inside just to test it; they look surprised every time that in fact it’s heating!

The other big surprise of course is the fact of the big savings on energy costs they can expect when switching to solar hvac!
Many people don’t know that Idaho offers low interest loans for families and business to install renewable energy – $15k individual and $100k for businesses.

Do you have questions about implementing solar into your home?
Give us a call for a no obligation consultation by phone – we’d love to hear about your solar needs and help you find a solution that works for your home and your budget!

Solar water heating is still a new concept to many people. Essentially solar water heaters are systems that use energy from the sun to heat water, which is then generally placed into a storage tank for use when it is needed – much like your traditional water heating systems, but without the cost of establishing and maintaining the temperature with electricity or gas.

While some older systems struggled with efficiency in colder months, or under cloudy conditions, our technology does not suffer from these draw backs and can help reduce your overall water heating costs. These systems are not just for warming up the water in your shower however! Solar water heating is great for a number of residential applications like radiant floor heating as well as larger commercial uses like heated water for car washes and dairies.

Sunlight itself, which comprises the majority of the systems power, is completely free so once the initial installation is complete the savings on energy can be seen immediately. In addition solar hot water is a green and renewable method of reducing your carbon footprint without having to overhaul your lifestyle.

Is this kind of thing popular? Yes! And gaining traction! More than 1.5 million homes and businesses currently use solar water heating in the United States, providing a capacity of over 1,000 megawatts of thermal energy. With another 400 megawatts likely to be installed over the next 3-5 years, solar water heating is sure to be in high demand for home builders and businesses alike.

Do you have questions about how our solar hvac solutions can help you?
I would love the opportunity to learn more about your needs and show you how Renewable Energy NW can help!