Saving Money With Solar Panels

WASHINGTON (AP) - One local company says solar technology is actually better than electricity at capturing and generating heat for water heaters.

The CEO of Skyline Innovations says his company works like a hot water utility.

The solar panels on the roof of a building heat giant tubs of water in the basement. That saves customers from having to use a traditional water heater and therefore, helps them save on their utility bills.


And Skyline Innovations gets a cut of those savings.

Skyline Innovations paid for the 32 solar panels on the roof of a Columbia Heights apartment building, along with the equipment and the labor to set it all up.

The property owner signed a 10-year contract, essentially a solar-panel lease.

"This customer will save about $2,500 a year," said Zach Axelrod, CEO of Skyline Innovations. "And then after 10 to 15 years, they have the right to purchase the asset and save $5-6,000 a year after that."

Instead of generating electricity, these panels heat the building's water.

The panel collects the heat energy from the sun, transfers that to a closed loop of antifreeze water mixture," said Kate Heidinger, project manager. "That's continually cycling up to the roof and down to the basement.

In the basement, the heat from the panels runs through coils in giant tubs, warming water up to 120 degrees before it reaches the building's existing hot water heater.

"This means your existing water heater doesn't need to work very hard or at all sometimes, especially during the summer," Heidinger said.

And for those who are skeptical that it can deliver enough hot water, no problem.

The existing hot water heater serves as a backup, and the panels work year-round.

Skyline Innovations says this system will offset about 70 percent of the building's water heating load, saving more than 50,000 pounds of CO2 from being emitted every year for the next 30 years.

Right now, the business model only really works in large commercial or residential buildings.

The company makes money with tax credits, renewable energy credits, plus monthly utility payments from the property owner.

Source:

http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0710/757490.html