SOLAR TODAY - November/December 2009

PRODUC TS

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SOLAR WATER HEATING

In most parts of the country,

heating for domestic hot water

or space heating is the most

economically viable form of solar en-

ergy. Depending on electric and gas

rates, upgrading your domestic wa-

ter-heating system to solar can pay

for itself in a few years and provide

a hedge against rising utility costs.

Here, a couple of new products

designed to make installation easy.

Residential PV-Powered Pumping Station Unveiled Butler Sun Solutions’ new photovoltaic-driven pumping station reduces installation and service time. It features a Laing high-head pump, backflow protection, solar loop pressure and temperature gauges, a volt meter to show PV input and low fluid level in the SPOT ( Self-Pres-surizing Over-Temperature) unit. An optional Art Tec DTC-AT controller is available. All filling and flushing valves are inside the station. Isolation valves allow the pump or tank heat exchanger to be removed without solar loop fluid loss. butlersunsolutions.com

Solkits Get
Energy Star Rating
Stiebel Eltron Solkits 2 and 3 are now Energy
Star-rated and have OG300 system certification
from the Solar Rating and Certification Corp.
These thermal solar systems are economical
and reliable sources of domestic hot water
for commercial and residential applications,
including space heating and swimming pools.
The solar closed-loop system includes SOL 25
Plus flat-plate collector panels and mounting
hardware, an SB/SBB storage tank with heat
exchangers, a pump station with expansion
tank and temperature/pressure gauges,
pressure relief and check valves, and a
controller unit with corresponding sensors.
stiebel-eltron-usa.com

Rheem Supplies Solar Water Heating to Nevada Co-op

Valley Electric Association ( vea.coop), a co-op supplying about 22,000 meters spread over 6,800 square miles along the Nevada-California border, has agreed to buy about 5,000 Rheem (rheem. com) SolPak solar water heaters and resell them, at cost, t o electric customers. It’s believed to be the largest such program ever undertaken in the United States.

The co-op expects the program to save ratepayers $34 million over the life of the systems and avoid emissions of 7,700 tons of carbon dioxide annually.