Dr. Ben Goes To Duke
I recently had the opportunity to visit the Bryan Center on the beautiful campus of Duke University. The Bryan Center serves as a hub for a variety of student activities including a food court with several restaurants. So the demand for hot water should be worth assessing. The only way to find out, of course, […]
Steve Kalland Checks Out The Fluid Handling System
Well, the Fluid Handling System for the solar hot water system being installed at the Warrior Transition Unit in Bethesda, MD is scheduled to ship out next week. So we were very pleased that Steve Kalland, Executive Director of the North Carolina Solar Center, was able to accept our invitation to see this FHS before […]
Like Father, Like Son…
This is a picture of Danny Pleasant putting sheet metal on a 1000 gallon tank for a commercial job, circa 1982. The second picture is Danny and his son, Brian, building sheet metal for a 2500 gallon tank going to the WTU in 2010.
‘Going Around Your Elbow to Get to Your Thumb’ in Solar Water Heaters
Every once in a while someone will ask me if it makes sense to collect solar energy with photovoltaic panels and then use that electricity to heat water. The answer is a rather emphatic NO. The reason is very simple. Photovoltaic (PV) systems have efficiencies in the 10-15% range and solar thermal systems have efficiencies […]