Cloud Hosting Performance Data
We currently have 7 solar hot water systems owned by third parties, with monthly billing for the energy used. To see the data, we developed a web hosting service in conjunction with a data system that controls the collector pump and energy meter, monitors all the data with calculations, sums, and averages, and reports the […]
Solar Water Heating at New Hanover County Jail
Ending 2012 on a very good note, the solar thermal system for the New Hanover County Jail was completed and put into operation! This system was designed and installed by Holocene. It’s also owned and operated by Holocene. The upfront cost to New Hanover County was $0. Instead, the county simply pays for the hot water the jail consumes.
Evaluating Solar Hot Water Panels on the Carriage House
We were asked by the Raleigh Housing Authority to visit the Carriage House, an 8-story low-income apartment building with 100 senior residents and a solar hot water system on its roof.
Tips for Installing Your Solar Storage Tank
The solar storage tank is probably the most critical component of any solar hot water system. Thus, it should be protected from rain and prolonged freezing temperatures in case of…
How To Avoid Over-sizing A Solar Thermal System
Properly sizing a commercial solar hot water system requires a simple understanding of a basic universal principal: the Law of Diminishing Returns. Let me explain. The term “Solar Fraction” is defined as the ratio between the solar energy output of a system over the total energy demand of a building served by that system.
“What’s wrong with using Rubatex to insulate solar thermal system piping?”
You may have heard me say before not to use any type of rubber when insulating the pipes of solar hot water systems. The picture to the right shows why. This rubber insulation was installed on a new A/C unit only some 4 years ago. The unit is in the shadow of a building and is as […]
What Is An “Immersion Vent”?
I had the opportunity to sit down recently with Alan Watts of Renewable Design Associates. To be such a young guy, Alan really seems to have a firm grasp of the basic fundamentals of solar hot water systems.
Inspecting the Solar Hot Water System at The Healing Place!
The solar thermal system at The Healing Place of Wake County is now up and running! So I decided to pay it a visit and see how it’s doing. I was pleased to see a fair amount of solar energy had been collected and stored over the past several days even though the weather had […]
Irregardless Cafe Goes Solar Thermal With Yes!
2012 is off to a shining start for Arthur Gordon, Chef Emeritus and Owner of the Irregardless Cafe here in Raleigh, NC. The Irregardless has joined the growing number of North Carolina businesses and organizations leading the charge for renewable energy. Arthur recently called Energy Specialist Dan Lezama of Yes! Solar Solutions to come out and […]
Dr. Ben Presents Solar Thermal System Design Seminar to PENC
I recently had the pleasure of presenting a solar thermal system design seminar to the Professional Engineers of North Carolina as part of their annual winter conference. It was good to see such a solid headcount for this 3-hour session which was an abridged version of the class I gave earlier this year for the NC […]