Sustainable Land Development Today - May 2008 - (Page 30)

TECHNOLOGY pleted in 2002 and continues to be refined and developed, offering seminars in solar design and construction as well as to serve as a spiritual retreat for guests. The owner and the designer of the project spent many years contemplating the project and undertook special design effort and planning to honor and respect the surrounding environment that surrounded the building. The project was not designed to be just a sustainable-energy design installation project, rather a holistic environmental design that could unite technology and ecology. The sustainable energy system is configured by deployment of eleven, solar-thermal panels with a control system which augments water heating by use of a supplemental propane boiler. The heated water is the primary heat source which provides space heating as well as a domestic hot water (DHW) system. At present the solar-thermal system accounts for about 60-70 percent of the heat, thus reducing propane use about 40-50 percent. At present, net-power output of the photovoltaic power system is rated at 3.6kW AC. The solar power generation consists of two systems; one is installed in the garden, and another in the kitchen above the counter which also serves as a solar window. The kitchen solar power panels are custom made building integrated photovoltaic panes referred to as BIPV, custom manufactured by Atlantis Energy which is build with quadruple-pane tempered glass panels which sandwich Shell Solar Power Max cells by a lamination process. DC to AC power conversion is achieved by use of two stacked Trace SW4048 inverters and Outback MX-60 Charge Controllers. The roof mount solar BIPV is secured to the building structure at an angle which matches the pitch of the rest of the roof, which is about 32 degrees up from the horizon in close proximity to the optimal angle matching the geographic latitude for an equinox alignment which favors’ the winter angle. The battery backup system has a 1600 Amp/hour back-up capacity. The batteries are kept on “float” much of the time and are equalized twice a year. Metering is a dual-rate “Time of use” and the utility consumption averages 1,400 Kwhs/ month. Even with recent electric rate increases, the average monthly bill is $130/month. The owner also pays a $15 monthly fee for an extra green power program offered by the local utility. The owner estimates that monthly saving resulted from use of the solar-power system amounts to at least $200.00 per month. The owner’s average propane bill now ranges from $80/month in the summer time, to about $250/month in the winter. Without the solar thermal system installation his summer bill would range from $150/month and winter over $600/month, an average of 60 percent energy cost savings. As of 2006, with federal and newly passed state incentives the owner will be able to claim about 30 percent average tax credits from both federal and state laws. At present the State of New Mexico does not have a cash rebate program. Final note: At present, investor-owned, electrical-power-generating entities in the United States offer optional green power to their clients at substantially high rates. In view of rising natural gas prices, solar power is considered to be the best hedge against energy-cost escalation. In recent years, the solar-power photovoltaic industries have expanded at an annual rate of 40 percent. Current global demand for solar-power photovoltaic panels indicates that solar-power technology will by 2010 exceed $40 Billion dollars. It should be noted that the U.S., the most prosperous nation in the world, at present has 4.5 percent of the global population, it consumes 25 percent of the world’s resources and produces 30 percent of the world’s pollution. SLDT © 2008, Dr. Peter Gevorkian. Printed with permission. About the author: Peter Gevorkian, Ph.D., is president of Vector Delta Design Group, Inc., an electrical engineering and solar power design consulting organization specializing in green industrial, commercial, and residential projects. Toll Free 888-999-3290 The Last Line of Defense for Pressurized Distribution Systems Keep distribution holes, spray heads, disc filters, etc. from clogging. Filter to multiple sizes (.062”, .024”, .007” or .004”) Easy to install and easy to maintain. Mounted on the pump it offers a last line of defense against debris that can enter anywhere in the system. Books published by Dr. Peter Gevorkian: “Solar Power in Building Design” (available through SLDI) “Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering” (soon available through SLDI) US Patent# 5,885,452 CAN Patent# 2,237,751 Visit our website and watch the video www.simtechfilter.com “Sustainable Energy Systems in Architectural Design” Circle 133 • or www.SLDTonline.com/webcard 30 May 2008 Sustainable Land Development Today http://www.simtechfilter.com http://www.simtechfilter.com http://www.SLDTonline.com/webcard

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - May 2008

Sustainable Land Development Today - May 2008 Contents Our Voice Editorial Board SLDT Resources Addressing a Crisis with Wastewater Recycling Visionary Award Finalists The Jonquil City - How a City Revitalized its Downtown Industry Spotlight: Enviroquip Solar Power System Design and Installation Stormwater: The Return of the Cistern Site Amenity: Fiber Optics Surveying and Mapping Wastewater: Low-Pressure System Special Feature: The Urban Canopy as Infrastructure Industry News Advertiser Index Products/Services Showcase Classifieds The Last Word: Nature Bats Last…

Sustainable Land Development Today - May 2008

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