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If concentrating sunlight works for utility-scale solar power plants, how about for heating and cooling a single building?
Santa Clara University said yesterday that it has started using 60 rooftop solar collectors that concentrate sunlight to generate heat, a technique typically used only for large-scale solar systems.
The solar collectors were developed by Chromasun, which was formed to adapt solar concentrators for commercial rooftops. By creating water as high as high as 400 degrees, the solar thermal system can be used for both hot water and to fuel air conditioners for commercial buildings.
The collectors use optics to concentrate sunlight 25 times, allowing them to heat water to 200 degrees for university's dining services. Santa Clara University estimates it will reduce its natural gas heating load by 70 percent and offset 34 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
With a California solar rebate program, the return on the initial investment is six years. The university will pay a fixed price for energy from the collectors under a 10-year lease and then own them afterwards. The components were manufactured in nearby San Jose, California.
"The MCT (collector) is visually stunning, is ideal for commercial-scale solar heating andcooling applications, and has an ingenious mounting system that ensures even large-scalesystems go in quickly and easily," Justin Weil, the president of SunWater Solar, a solar thermal installation company, said in a statement.
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Santa Clara University said yesterday that it has started using 60 rooftop solar collectors that concentrate sunlight to generate heat, a technique typically used only for large-scale solar systems.
The solar collectors were developed by Chromasun, which was formed to adapt solar concentrators for commercial rooftops. By creating water as high as high as 400 degrees, the solar thermal system can be used for both hot water and to fuel air conditioners for commercial buildings.
The collectors use optics to concentrate sunlight 25 times, allowing them to heat water to 200 degrees for university's dining services. Santa Clara University estimates it will reduce its natural gas heating load by 70 percent and offset 34 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
With a California solar rebate program, the return on the initial investment is six years. The university will pay a fixed price for energy from the collectors under a 10-year lease and then own them afterwards. The components were manufactured in nearby San Jose, California.
"The MCT (collector) is visually stunning, is ideal for commercial-scale solar heating andcooling applications, and has an ingenious mounting system that ensures even large-scalesystems go in quickly and easily," Justin Weil, the president of SunWater Solar, a solar thermal installation company, said in a statement.
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