Description: Eric from Harpiris Energy tells us about their Suncache product which is a passive solar water heating system made out of plastic. With $2M in grant funding from the Department of Energy, Harpiris Energy brought their Suncache product to the market. The units have been shipping for about a year. Harpiris Energy just finished installation in two apartment complexes in Sacramento, and they are looking forward to another project in Hanford. This is a passive system where there is no electricity being generating. The cold city water enters the collector when someone turns on the faucet and moves through the copper piping. Subsequently, it extracts heat from the 50 gallons that are held in the unit. Finally, the water enters whatever kind of heating system one uses in their home whether it is a tankless or a conventional water heater. The Suncache is cheaper and lighter than conventional solar thermal units because the Suncache is made out of plastic. The unit is sent in one big box with all the elements needed to install it. There was a bill passed in California not too long ago to incentivize solar water heaters; the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) just released a draft proposal that is $275M dollars over the next 8 years, includes $35M for marketing. There may potentially be rebates for those installing solar water heaters. Cost savings: Versus a natural gas system, one can expect to save $150 dollars a year. Compared electric water heaters, one may save $1000 dollars a <b>...</b> |
