Many companies are interested in reducing their overall energy consumption and they like the idea of using alternative energy as a source of power. The idea of solar hot water sounds boring to them. They get excited about the fact that they can get electricity from the wind or the sun, and that it is free. However, the costs for getting solar or wind electricity is very high. Since the photovoltaic cells or steam engine turbines cost a lot of money and at best, they can give 4-7kW of electricity per system.
Then you have to worry about the lifespan of the solar cell because as it gets heated up, it could get to the point of being fried, and then you just have a useless piece of scrap metal. Many people overlook solar hot water because it is not as fancy as the solar electricity. However, do not be quick to judge that a solar hot water system cannot reduce your energy bill. For example, the SolarBeam Concentrator can produce up to 13kW of thermal heat per hour.
This translates to 44,000 BTU’s of energy. It can heat a 120 gallon hot water tank to 90 degrees in 3 hours. Because the solar hot water system uses the raw power of the sun to heat the water, there is no loss in conversion, like there is in making electricity. So you get more bang for your buck by installing solar hot water systems than solar electricity, plus they are much cheaper. Companies that can benefit from solar hot water are: beverage companies, wineries, hotels, hospitals, schools, etc.
Basically the rule is, if there is hot water in the building and you have a 120 gallon hot water tank, you can use a solar hot water system. In addition, the great thing about solar concentrator hot water systems are that they can generate high amounts of hot water, which can then be changed into steam. So any company with steam generation systems can offset their energy usage. If a client needs 8 tons of steam per hour, he will need 600 solar concentrators. However, the payback is 12 years and that’s without government rebates. So whether you are a home owner or a large corporation, you can reduce your energy costs by using solar hot water systems.
There are many types of systems from flat panels to solar concentrators, however solar concentrators have the best payback because they can track the sun throughout the day. The solar hot water system is not new technology. It was invented back in the 1800’s and was used to generate steam which powered a printing press. However, after the discovery of oil, people lost interest in solar energy systems and only now has there been renewed interest in this technology. I am hoping that our children will be using alternative energy as a source of power and we will be able to stop the climate change. In my opinion, I feel that solar hot water systems, if they were used by everyone would cut by half the amount of fossil fuels. We just need to change peoples mind, one mind at a time.
Recent Comments