INC NEWS - Durham Installs First Solar Water Heating System

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

For Details, Contact:

Amy C. Blalock

Senior Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov <mailto:Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov> 

 

For Immediate Release:  September 5, 2008

 

Durham Installs First Solar Water Heating System in City-Owned Facility

New System to Save Thousands in Energy Costs; System to be Highlighted
During the 2008 N.C. Green Building & Solar Tour


Durham, N.C. - Durham has taken an important next step in becoming more
energy efficient thanks to a new solar water heating system, the first
of its kind to be installed in a facility owned by the City of Durham.

 

The City's Department of General Services recently installed the new
solar system at its facility, located at 2011 Fay Street, which boasts a
projected savings of $2,500 annually in natural gas costs at today's
price with a return on investment of less than five years.  The new
system replaces the natural gas fired boiler water heating system with a
16 vacuum tube solar collector mounted on the facility's roof, where
incoming solar radiation is converted to heat that is then transferred
to the facility's water tank.

 

According to Dean Pricer, energy manager for the City's Department of
General Services, the savings go beyond just fiscal cost by also helping
the City achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50
percent from 2005 levels by 2030.  "A big part of our goal as a local
government is to reduce our emissions in our day-to-day operations,"
Pricer said.  "This new solar system has the potential of providing 100
percent of this facility's hot water needs from May to October and
between 40 percent and 80 percent during the late fall and winter
months.  That's a tremendous savings not just to our taxpayers, but for
our environment as well because we are virtually eliminating our need to
use natural gas to heat our water."

 

The City's General Services Facility has been added to the 2008 N.C.
Green Building & Solar Tour, which will highlight renewable and energy
efficient technologies across North Carolina.  Conducted by the North
Carolina Sustainable Energy Association in collaboration with community
leaders, partner organizations, and the American Solar Energy Society,
Durham's tour is scheduled for Saturday, October 4, 2008.  For more
information on the 2008 N.C. Green Building & Solar Tour, visit 
www.ncsustainableenergy.org/events/ncsea/display/33-ncsea2008statewidegr
eenbuildingsolartour. 

 

To learn more about Durham's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and
Local Action Plan, visit the City's Web site at www.durhamnc.gov/ghg. 

 

About the City's Department of General Services

The City of Durham's Department of General Services provides timely,
cost-effective and high quality services in eight core business
functions: Administration, Cemeteries, Facilities Operations, Landscape
Services, Parking Contract Administration, Project Management, Real
Estate, and Urban Forestry.  For more information, visit 
www.durhamnc.gov/departments/general
<http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/general> . 

 

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