Solar Thermal for Commercial Buildings

Climate change or not the cost of utilities is constantly rising but if you install a solar thermal system you will be able to offset those increases and help lessen the damage that the burning of fossil fuels is inflicting on the planet. The heat can be used for domestic hot water, space heating, and cooling or even process heat.

Solar thermal for schools, colleges or institutional building helps almost everyone!

Schools, hospitals, senior homes, and other institutions often have plenty of unused room on their roofs that are ideal for the installation of a solar thermal system. Flat roofs are best but any roof with good southern exposure will allow the solar collectors to be easily mounted. As with residential applications the ideal angle will be approximately the same as latitude. (Toronto = 43 to 60 degrees depending on proposed usage).

Locating Your System
If your building has a south facing roof or wall with little obstruction to the sun you might have a perfect location for a solar thermal system. However, even if you don't have a suitable south facing site, due to the round shape of the evacuated tubes they effectively passively track the sun throughout the day which means that you can mount them on east-west facing sites too. Most manufactures state that the collectors need to be mounted at an angle equal to your latitude (i.e. Toronto = 43 degrees.) but if they are going to be used in conjunction with radiant in-floor heating systems then another 15 degrees should be added (Toronto = ~58 degrees). Sizing Your System

How much hot water do you need
Sizing the system correctly is an important step so that you obtain a solar system suitable for the needs of your commercial building. You should always consider professional advice on sizing all the components for a solar water heating system but with a few small calculations you will be able to get a good idea of what's required in terms of collectors and storage tanks.

How many people will be using the building on a daily basis? Generally people use only a few gallons of hot water per day while at work but you should also look at other heating requirements such as space heating or process heat. As well some institutions such as nursing homes use much more hot water than you think. Contact us for proper sizing.

Investing in Your System
A solar thermal system is an affordable way to lower energy bills and help the environment at the same time. As with other renewable technologies up-front capital is required to purchase the equipment and installation necessary. After installation your solar thermal system will provide many years of free energy provided by the sun. Financial incentives are available from different levels of government.

Government incentive programs are constantly changing with current ones being revised and new ones being added. Please contact us for information about the latest incentives.

Nursing Home instalation by Zolarayz