System designed to heat pool, save energy and money

An array of 48 solar panels is now installed on the roof of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building at the University of Arkansas. The solar heating system will provide over half of the energy needed to heat the building’s Olympic-sized swimming pool, which is heated year around.

The 1,920-square-foot solar hot water array on the roof is connected to a heat exchanger that provides supplemental heat to the pool. The system is designed to provide all of the heat for the water in the 730,000-gallon pool during the summer and to pre-heat water on cloudy days and in the winter. The solar panels harvest over 2 million BTUs of heat energy per day. The system is expected to reduce utility bills in the HPER Building significantly while cutting greenhouse gas emissions by about 30 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The HPER solar installation is part of the campuswide RazorsEDGE energy savings program, which enables the university to invest in energy conservation and renewable energy projects. The university has a $23.9 million energy savings performance contract with Energy Systems Group, an energy services provider. The RazorsEDGE program is designed to reduce annual energy consumption in buildings across campus, with a guarantee that energy savings over a 13-year period that will cover the cost of all building improvements.

Energy Systems Group is the general contractor for RazorsEDGE and partnered with Sun City Solar Commercial Energy LLC, which designed and installed the innovative solar panel heating system on the HPER Building.

“Solar heating is ideal for swimming pool applications,” said John Gerrard, GM for Sun City. “It’s a relatively low temperature requirement and can take advantage of solar radiation all year.”

Nick Brown, the University of Arkansas director for campus sustainability, said that this solar thermal system matches a dependable solar resource to a constant energy demand.

“Because energy is needed year around to heat this pool to 80 degrees, we can take advantage of available solar energy in warm months as well as cool ones,” he said. “To our knowledge, this is the largest solar thermal energy system in the state of Arkansas. This project helps move us toward our goal of becoming a carbon neutral campus by the year 2040.”

Paul Gandy, construction manager for Energy Systems Group, said his company and Sun City worked seamlessly with the university to develop an innovative installation that will save energy and money, at the same time raising the profile of solar hot water systems as a viable alternative energy source for some applications.

The HPER Building and its pool are currently heated with a natural gas-fired steam system. Scott Turley, director of utilities for the university, estimates that the solar energy system will reduce the building’s energy bill by about $4,000 per year at today’s energy prices.

“Gas costs have fluctuated wildly over the past couple of years,” said Turley, “but if prices return to the level they were in spring 2008, we’ll save $10,000 per year or more.”

Last year the HPER Building pool had a total of 55,000 users. In addition to university students, faculty and staff, the pool is the site of collegiate and high school swim and dive meets, it serves as a practice facility for several swim clubs and teams, and it is used for swimming instruction, group exercise programs and entertainment, such as the popular “dive-in” movies at the pool.

The university’s College of Education and Health Professions, which includes academic programs for health science, kinesiology, recreation, and dance, manages the HPER Building operations. Intramural and recreational sports and fitness programs for campus users and alumni are also operated from the building.

The world has become so dependent on fossil fuels that no modern culture could survive without the limitless number of consumer goods that are made from fossil fuels.  Everything from fuel for automobiles, airlines, the trucking industry; products for businesses, hospitals and other institutions;  household goods, space exploration, agriculture, fishing, clothing, science and industry all depend on fossil fuels.  These products increase our dependence on foreign goods.

When Americans take advantage of the tax credits available for investing in solar energy, an increase in the conversion to a renewable energy source makes a difference to our planet.  There is no easy or short answer to energy.   If every household in the US installed a solar hot water heater, a solar electric power system, or a solar pool heater on their home, there would be a significant decrease in the amount of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the air.  Add the cumulative effect of using solar over the coming decades to replace the pollution generated by coal fired power plants, and there would be a phenomenal reduction of green house gases.

There are consequences if we ignore what is happening to our planet.  The spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a sad example.  Americans as a whole enjoy one of the best standards of living in the world.  We take for granted the comforts afforded by our high standard of living. Many people do not see a problem with our current energy use and are not concerned about the state of the environment.  Those that are concerned feel they can do little to improve the quality of our air, land and water.  At what point should we, as inhabitants of the planet, make an effort to allow our progeny to enjoy a quality of life that does not include the increase of environmentally induced disease, destruction of our natural habitats, extinction of species, rampant overproduction of invasive species, contaminated food and polluted water? 

If you look at the global picture, it can seem overwhelming, and the prospect for change seems slim.  But you CAN make a real difference.  You can invest in a solar water heater, a solar electric system, a solar pool heater, even a solar electric attic fan.  All of these things make a difference to your community, your state, our country and to the planet as a whole. Thoughtful consumerism and changes to our lifestyles can make a difference.  Investing in clean solar energy will make a difference.

If we all do our part, we will be able to maintain our lifestyle and allow the natural world to thrive.  Visit SunCityEnergy.com  to learn how you can save money and help our future generations by owning a Sun City Solar  Energy System.

Solar Subsidies and Small Business

With all the publicity about the push for energy independence and “going green,” it is easy to assume that solar energy products practically sell themselves.  This may hold true on the West coast, or in states with added incentives to encourage solar investment, but not in our part of the country.

The misconceptions may stem in part from the 30% tax credit offered by the Federal government for investing in solar energy.  These rebates directly benefit the consumer.¹ There are no rebates offered to those of us marketing solar energy products.   As a matter of fact, the company must pay excise tax on all solar energy equipment delivered from another state.  Most solar equipment is manufactured in California and the cost to ship products to the middle of the country remains high, not to mention the overhead required to operate a small business.  Add costs for marketing, insurance and labor and you can see how the costs can add up in a hurry.  In a global economy, even small business must keep their profit margins low in order to remain competitive.

Sun City Solar Energy has been in business since 1983, and the company is proud to be the most experienced and knowledgeable provider and installer of quality solar equipment in the area.  As such, Sun City Solar is contacted on a regular basis by individuals, architects, engineers, municipalities, electricians, plumbers and other professionals seeking information about the proper design, layout, equipment specifications, sizing and numerous other questions about solar energy.  Although we are happy to promote solar energy, giving this information to individuals, companies, agencies and design professionals for free does nothing to keep our doors open.

Small businesses new to solar have a very steep learning curve, especially if the owners believe they can take advantage of stimulus money available for renewable energy.  As taxpayers, we are grateful the government accepts only the lowest bid for the solar applications for local, state and federal government projects.  The bottom line is that only large companies able to buy equipment in bulk at discount prices will be able to win a low bid government project.  And there is no guarantee that because a company is large, the margin for error decreases.  Sun City has been able to capitalize on redesign and repair of systems installed by companies both large and small.

There are the programs funded by the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), which are publicized specifically to benefit small businesses.  These programs have fallen far short of their intentions.  Solar is a relatively new technology, and some of the government projects sent out to bid are not properly designed or do not specify correct equipment.  Small businesses that win a low bid further complicate the problem because they do not have the knowledge or experience to properly execute the project.  The end result is that a small business may win the battle, but lose the war.  In other words, the small business will win the bid and add revenue to their bottom line, but go out of business because they are not profitable. Also, a company that bids the job too low ends up substituting inferior products in an effort to keep the overall cost within the amount bid.  Often, this ends up being a lose / lose situation for small businesses and the government.  The government ends up getting an inferior product and the small business loses money because they are not familiar with the equipment and/or installation. The bid did not include all the system products or the business is unable to provide the extensive warranties required by the government.

A recent study ranking 160 countries according to their dedication to the promotion of environmental stewardship ranked the US 61^st on the list.  As a whole, Americans are not willing to change their lifestyle for short or long term benefits.  Sun City Solar Energy has devoted many decades to promoting, encouraging and providing quality solar energy systems to improve the quality of life for our customers and future generations.  It has been a challenging, interesting and rewarding journey.  We encourage you to learn about the benefits of solar and become part of the solution for energy independence at SunCityEnergy.com.

“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
- Henry David Thoreau