Category: Idaho Solar

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.

carl@www.renewableenergynwllc.com

 

Thanks.

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.

 

 

This install we completed last year in Idaho City, Idaho.  The install includes 2 Mystic panels mounted vertically on the outside of the garage.  The system is designed to provide hot water and any additional energy to be dissapated in the water to air heat exchanger in the furnace.  The comments below are from the customer.

“We installed our solar heating system just before Memorial Day, and cannot be happier with it! Our dual Mystic panel design provides nearly 100% of our water heating, and in the winter, it will also heat the house air. What a joy to watch the sun come up and know that we have a carbon-free (and dollar-free and hassle-free) source of heat. It is hard to understand why these systems are not on more homes and businesses because the payback is so quick. Neighbors have repeatedly commented on the nice look and clean design of our system. Carl and his team have been very responsive to our questions and custom design ideas — we highly recommend them to others considering a solar water heating system. If circumstances ever require us to move from our current house, we will definitely plan to install a Mystic system to our next place. The system paid for itself in 13 months.” -KC Idaho City, ID

I just completed my first install in Idaho on a “net zero” home.  I am very excited to participate in this project.  Imagine no utility bills on your home “FOREVER”, kind of nice though.  This home accomplishes that goal.  It is a beautiful functional home that used passive solar for some of the winter heating.  The home is insulated very well R50 in the ceilings and R30+ in the walls.

We installed a Mystic unit on s standing seam roof.  The system has a solar storage tank and is also using our solar controller to increase the efficiency of the system.

I hope that we are able to assist on many more of these homes in the coming years.  I am use to dealing with and personally enjoying free hot water but, I am envious of no utility bills.  Maybe on my next home!

Solar heating for shop in eastern Idaho.

We recently finished an upgrade project in Eastern Idaho adding 2 additional solar thermal panels to an existing installation.  The upgrade project included moving the one of the existing panels closer together and updating the piping connection.  The system was not performing as the owner had hopped due to a few reasons.

When the contractor installed the radiant floor for the shop no insulation was installed under the floor.  RENW recommends installing 4″ of insulation under the floor to ensure the heating goes into the building instead of trying to heat the ground.   The solar controller was also not programmed for optimal collection and disbursement of the suns radiation.  The system is also using glycol as the heat transfer.  50/50 glycol and water solution collects 30% less energy than 100% water system.

We enjoy developing and assisting customers in delivering affordable solar solutions.