Solar Hot Water For Prisons And Hospitals

By Author: solar hot water Peter
Total Articles: 139
Comment this article

Large institutions require correspondingly large amounts of hot water and therefore can drain energy quite substantially from the grid. This energy is used to heat water for laundry, cooking and cleaning. At high volume intake, a large scale institution is also quite susceptible to changes in power pricing, demand charges and interruptions in service. These institutions do have back-up power, usually in the form of a diesel generator or natural gas. However, the most effective way to avoid these risks is to use power harvested from a renewable source, on-site. Solar power Transmission losses are thus minimized and the system is easily monitored.

Hot water and space heating loads can be offset with an efficient solar hot water system. Both forced air and in-floor heating systems can be fuelled by solar heating, not to mention all the potential within passive solar heating. Solar heating can easily be retrofitted into existing water infrastructure. Rather than a boiler, spewing soot and requiring constant supervision, an efficient solar thermal collector can take its place.

The most efficient style of solar thermal ...
... collector is a tracking parabolic concentrator, such as the Solar Beam Concentrator from Solartron Energy Systems. The dish geometry focuses all radiation incidents on the reflective surface on to an absorber, where a glycol mixture transfers heat to the hot water load. The two-axis tracking abilities of the dish ensure it operates at peak efficiency throughout the day, something that flat panels and evacuated tube systems cannot claim. A stationary collector only reaches peak efficiency for around 2 hours a day. For an institution with hot water and heat demand throughout the day, such as a prison or a hospital, this is not acceptable. Space-wise, the Solar Beam system can replace approximately 15 flat panels, leaving one able to set up a system with minimal roof or yard space.

Obviously a back-up system is required in the case of solar heating; the sun does not shine at night. But this can be combined as a trisects with grid power and the backup generator currently in place. During the day and times with good insulation, the solar water heating system can handle the bulk of the load. Any remainder in demand can be made up with grid sources of power. The ratio of heat handled by the solar hot water system to total heat consumption is known as the solar fraction (frequently quoted as SF). The higher the solar fraction, the more independent a given hospital or prison can be.

Energy independence is the responsible avenue for a large facility. Solar hot water heater Striving towards this goal will reduce one’s own costs and risks, as well as provide value to the institution. A solar hot water system, properly installed and maintained, can last a long time, providing heat long after its payback time.

Here the author James Peter says about Solar hot water heater and Solar power, for more details please visit http://www.solartronenergy.com/.