Cleveland Gives Solar Energy a Go

Cleveland gives solar energy a go

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
John Funk
Plain Dealer Reporter
The city of Cleveland is headed into hot water - literally.

The plan is to harness civilization's oldest energy source - the sun - to heat water at fire stations, indoor city swimming pools and recreation centers.

If that proves economical - weighing the equipment costs against lowered gas bills - the city hopes eventually to encourage others to install the same kind of equipment by adjusting its water rates, said Andrew Watterson, Cleveland's sustainability programs manager.

The first step happens today as city pipefitters, plumbers and electricians install a solar thermal system on the roof of the Fire Station 20 on Pearl Road.

The $15,000 system includes six solar panels, each about 25 square feet, and two super-insulated 105-gallon water tanks that will feed hot water into the station's existing gas-fired tanks.

The fire station will be featured in the American Solar Energy Society's 36th annual convention that will be held here July 7 to 12.

GreenEnergy Ohio, a renewable-energy advocacy organization, is paying for the project with a $10,000 state grant and fees from two solar training classes it is sponsoring, said Christina Panoska, a program manager with the group.

The solar heat should provide between 50 percent and 70 percent of the station's hot-water needs, said Mark Thornbloom, an engineer and solar project manager with Schuco-USA, a division of its German parent, Schuco International KG, which manufactured the system.

But will it work in the winter?

"In pure principle, yes," Thornbloom said. "I visited a system in Austria that has 10,000 square feet of solar collectors, to heat the grass to play soccer in winter. Austria has the fourth-highest solar per capita in the world, yet Austria has less [sun] than southern Alaska."

The payback time on such system in Ohio is six to seven years, said Roswell "Roz" Ellis, president of Solar Resource Corp. of Westerville, Ohio, which is providing the Schuco products for the fire station project.

The solar water tanks are so well insulated, they can "hold a temperature for up to two weeks," he said.

"Will it work in Cleveland in the winter? Yes, though not as well as in Cincinnati," he said. "But from May through October, it will take care of all of your hot water needs, in Cleveland."

Watterson explains winter use this way:

"We draw water from Lake Erie. It's 33 degrees to 34 degrees. Heating from that temperature to 120 degrees takes a lot of energy. The solar thermal system can bring that temperature up to 80 or 90 degrees, meaning the solar system acts as a pre-heater."

The fire station is a pilot project, he said. The city will keep careful records on how much hot water the system will provide over the next year and how much it saves on gas.

If the industry's claims pan out, the city wants to install the heaters at fire stations and recreation centers as replacements are needed. Mayor Frank Jackson's administration plans to include solar thermal water heaters in future capital budgets, said Watterson, as a first step to incorporate "green building" in city projects.

The city also wants, eventually, to help with the installation of the systems in schools, libraries and other nonprofit organizations, he said.

Solar thermal installations were extremely popular in the 1970s during the natural gas shortages and after Congress enacted federal tax credits. But those lapsed in the 1980s and installations slowed drastically.

Since 2005, when Congress restored tax credits, solar thermal projects have seen a resurgence, said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, a national trade association.

There were 3,000 new thermal systems installed in 2001, 6,000 in 2005 and 9,000 last year, he said. "We see installations growing by another 50 percent this year," he said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jfunk@plaind.com, 216-999-4138