In May we installed 8 Lava solar thermal units in a car wash in Idaho. The Lava units have a 50 gallon insulated non pressurized tank to store the energy collected during the day. The energy is then consumed heating the hot water for the car wash.
The energy can also be used in the winter to assist heating the radiant floor system for the car wash bays.
We also installed a Hi-bred water storage system in the mechanical room with a 95% efficient boiler. The project funding was assisted with the help of a USDA REAP Grant of 25% and a US Treasury Grant of 30%.
The owner of the car wash is very happy with the savings and performance of the system.
The car wash is able to turn the natural gas off in March and then turn the gas back on in October due to the increased energy heating the radiant floors.
– See more at: https://www.renewableenergynwllc.com/blog/solar-water-heating-car-wash#sthash.aYcQGrmz.dpuf
According to the US Department of of Energy approximately 25% of a typical houses energy load is consumed heating hot water. A typical house is heating water 24/7 365 days a year. By choosing solar thermal application you can supply up to 90% of your hot water needs with energy supplied from the sun. One 20 tube solar thermal panel creates 65 gallons of hot water on a clear winter day regardless of outside temperature (due to the evacuated tube). The circulation pump uses less than .5 amps and costs less than $1 per month to collect the energy from the sun. The system collects energy all day at a gain rate of 3-5 degrees gained through each panel and the water flowing at 2-3 gallons per minute. The hot water is stored in and insulated tank for night time baths and morning showers. Then the process starts all over again. What a great feeling to take a nice steamy free shower to start your day off.
This install is about 100 miles east of LA. The equipment was purchased from Renewable Energy NW, LLC. Pictures and instructions were also included. The home owner called before the install and with any questions during the install.
The install is first class. The homeowner is very happy with the product and its performance.
There are now 250 million people in China that have Solar Thermal hot water for home and business use. Imagine if we could achieve the same or higher level here in the US. Imagine cleaner air, lower pollution and cheaper utility costs.
We can choose to be more sustainable and reduce our living expenses at the same time. The time has come for us to embrace this technology and start improving the world that we live in.
I enjoyed Solar Thermal hot water for 2 years. I enjoy taking a nice steamy hot shower and know that this shower was close to free from an energy and environmental perspective.
Please contact me if you would like to learn more about this renewable energy option.
We just completed a 30 panel mystic system to heat the process clean up water for a dairy. The system will produce 1000 gallons of 165 degree water on a daily basis. An on demand electric point of use water heater was also installed as a back up for the solar system. The system is operating well and creating energy even in the toughest time of the year – December/January radiation levels from the sun.
The payback on the system is guaranteed to be less than 2 years. The installation was completed in two weeks.
The process water is used to clean up after each milk run and to keep the process clean and sanitized. This install was assisted with grants from the USDA Rural Development and the US Treasury 1603 Grant.
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