Sanborn Regional School District in New Hampshire has signed what Enerconcept Technologies says is the world's first power purchase agreement (PPA) for solar hot air. The school district's solar hot air collector project, installed at its high school, is expected to reduce its annual heating bills by at least $17,000.
The 10-year contract uses American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds. The project features four separate Lubi wall-mounted solar hot air collectors by Enerconcept Technologies. The collectors, which aesthetically appear as walls of windows, will cover 8,000 square feet of the school's southern walls and use a black metal absorber.
The collectors will provide a majority of the school's heated make-up air requirements and partially space heat the 12,000 square-foot gym. The Lubi uses 1 x 3-foot translucent glazing panels with a patented perforation design, Enerconcept says.
Facilitating the project is a limited joint partnership between Enerconcept, PPA provider and financier Revolution Energy and Shift Energy, a Biddeford, Maine-based manufacturer's representative that will manage a November commencement of the wall-mounted solar collectors' installation and connection to the school's HVAC system.Â
