In the current financial and political climate, intelligent building owners are looking for new ways to conform to the ever changing government regulations and the demands of tenants. Searching for more environmentally conscious ways to supply energy to our buildings presents a big challenge.
We’ve all heard about the latest advances in wind technology and the great strides that have been made in that area, but you may not have heard about solar heating tubes: the other green energy source. There is no better, or more untapped, source of renewable energy than the sun. Every day, 365 days per year The sun gives us energy in the form of light and heat all year long. But most of the energy it supplies goes to waste, while instead we burn carbon fuels, which are quickly running out, becoming more expensive and pollute the atmosphere. Things will only get worse if we continue to rely on fossil fuels, and the time to embrace an environmentally favorable approach to supplying our energy needs is now, while the governments of many states and countries are offering financial incentives.
Using solar heating tubes to produce green energy has several benefits, both to property owners and their tenants. Depending on the amount of hot water is used in the building, the savings can be enormous, even if solar energy is used only to heat the building’s water. Obviously, different types of building will use massively different amounts of hot water, but very few buildings use no hot water at all, whether it’s tenants taking showers, doing laundry, washing dishes, or using warm water for general cleaning purposes. Many homes also use central heating systems, using coils of heated water underneath the floor boards to heat the entire building. If your buildings are heated this way, you will be able to cut your heating bills significantly, if not entirely.
In places like New York solar energy has always been regarded as ineffective as the weather is changeable and there is often not enough direct sunlight for solar panels to be effective. Solar heating tubes, on the other hand, work differently and are able to capture much more sunlight. The shape of the solar heating tubes allows the receiving unit to harvest solar energy throughout the day, as the sun’s rays will be striking the surface of the cylinder during all daylight hours, as opposed to flat solar panels, which need direct sunlight to work effectively. The energy collected is then kept inside copper rods and the tubes are vacuum-sealed, allowing almost none of the energy to escape. The tubes are so well insulated that the outside of the tubes will remain relatively cool even though the copper rods inside can reach more than three hundred degrees Fahrenheit. The combination of these two factors makes it possible for landlords to use solar energy even in cooler climates. If you are a landlord in New York green energy is now a practical option.
This is one green technology that you would be a fool not to make use of. Installing solar heating tubes will not only reduce your carbon footprint and help save the planet, it has the potential to leave a lot of added green in your bank account. When you look at it that way, it’s very difficult to ignore the benefits of installing solar heating tubes.
Craig Axelrod is a principal for EmmyEnergy.com, a LI solar energy system operation delivering solar heating tubes solar power systems & clean energy systems throughout the Northeast.
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