AI
Friday, October 20, 2006 2:07:34 PM
Here are some details and pictures from my field trip to their showroom and manufacturing plant. Feel free to fire any questions my way.
Here are the solar collectors, as shown on the roof of their Eureka showroom. I believe Six Rivers Solar was the original company before it went public. The collectors are made of pyrex, can withstand hail, and are vaccum evacuated so outside temperature doesn't effect their peformance. The top part is called the header, and water may be run through it to extract heat from the collectors when a sensor indicates that the collectors are hotter than the water. This is known as a "drain-back system". Because the pipes are empty when the collectors are cool, this will never freeze.
Hot water is kept in an insulated tank and automatically circulated through the collectors. You don't actually use this hot water directly - instead, there's a heat exchanger inside the tank (a coil). You run cold water through the heat exchanger and it comes out hot. It can then be heated further (if necessary) with a tankless water heater.
The hot water can be used for heating your house as well. Here's an model they have of their radiant heating system.
Finally, some images of their new warehouse and office space, which they are just moving into. They're paying $3500 per month for the warehouse and office space, utilities included!
Here's the founder, Norm.
Solar electric gets all the attention, but solar thermal actually pays for itself much faster - about eight years instead of about twenty for solar electric. A Trendsetter system for a new house costs about $12K after tax credits and reduces your heating costs by about 70%. Keep in mind that this replaces the furnace and conventional water heater you would have otherwise put in, so this really costs only about $9K more than a conventional system.
Yeah, I'm a bit starstruck, but I can't think of a reason why you not to build a Trendsetter system into a new house.
This even makes MORE sense to put into a hotel. For one thing, hotels do more laundry and so use more hot water. Secondly, there's a 30% tax incentive to put these systems in, but there's a $2K cap for a residential project. There is no cap for a commercial project.
Here are the solar collectors, as shown on the roof of their Eureka showroom. I believe Six Rivers Solar was the original company before it went public. The collectors are made of pyrex, can withstand hail, and are vaccum evacuated so outside temperature doesn't effect their peformance. The top part is called the header, and water may be run through it to extract heat from the collectors when a sensor indicates that the collectors are hotter than the water. This is known as a "drain-back system". Because the pipes are empty when the collectors are cool, this will never freeze.
Hot water is kept in an insulated tank and automatically circulated through the collectors. You don't actually use this hot water directly - instead, there's a heat exchanger inside the tank (a coil). You run cold water through the heat exchanger and it comes out hot. It can then be heated further (if necessary) with a tankless water heater.
The hot water can be used for heating your house as well. Here's an model they have of their radiant heating system.
Finally, some images of their new warehouse and office space, which they are just moving into. They're paying $3500 per month for the warehouse and office space, utilities included!
Here's the founder, Norm.
Solar electric gets all the attention, but solar thermal actually pays for itself much faster - about eight years instead of about twenty for solar electric. A Trendsetter system for a new house costs about $12K after tax credits and reduces your heating costs by about 70%. Keep in mind that this replaces the furnace and conventional water heater you would have otherwise put in, so this really costs only about $9K more than a conventional system.
Yeah, I'm a bit starstruck, but I can't think of a reason why you not to build a Trendsetter system into a new house.
This even makes MORE sense to put into a hotel. For one thing, hotels do more laundry and so use more hot water. Secondly, there's a 30% tax incentive to put these systems in, but there's a $2K cap for a residential project. There is no cap for a commercial project.
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