Kingspan Environmental has commissioned a solar thermal system to heat water in apartment buildings on Syracuse University in New York. The 240-panel system is on 20 buildings on the university's South Campus.
Each of the buildings is equipped with two separate electrically heated hot water systems serving 12 students each. The storage tanks, serviced directly by the solar panels, preheat incoming cold water, which is then fed into the existing water heaters. This configuration allows the solar thermal system to contribute up to 60% of the energy required for hot water production. The average demand for each of the hot water systems is estimated to be 168 gallons per day.
The project was supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
