SOLAR TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
SOLAR TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
The St. Rose Hospital in San Antonio, Texas utilizes a solar thermal water heating system to meet 80% of its hot water needs which translates into 1,200 Million BTUs a year. 4
Gould Electronics, Inc. of Chandler, Arizona meets 60% of its annual hot water needs for its copper foil manufacturing facility using a parabolic trough solar collector. The system was installed in 1982 and has had a 90% availability and a monthly energy savings of $7,500. 4
A PV manufacturing plant in Fairfield, CA utilizes thin-film PV modules that transmit light, therefore making them appropriate for use in building facades. These electricity-generating PV modules can be used as skylights and awnings, becoming a part of the building’s architectural design. This not only reduces construction costs and provides electricity, but also it contributes to the aesthetics of the structure. 5
Solar & Tourism. The most popular tourist destinations are also the places that benefit the most economically and environmentally from clean, quiet solar energy. The average hotel, which operates year-round and has an occupancy rate of 100% for four months and 40% for the remaining months and a cost of electricity of 15 cents/kWh, has an annual electric hot water cost of $2,220. The one-time cost to install a solar hot water system to meet that same demand is as low as US $6,000. This means that the payback time for the solar system can be less than three years. Thereafter, the solar system saves the hotel over $2,000 each year. 6
Footnotes
4. Catalog of Successful Operating Solar Process Heat Systems. SEIA.
5. Solar Electric Buildings. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, February 1996. P. 9
6. Solar Energy: The Smart Choice for the Tourism Industry. SEIA Brochure (1996).
Written by: Solar Energy Industries Association
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