Past Projects
The Beaches Laundromat (Toronto)
When Alex Winch purchased the Beaches Laundromat in 2002, an oil-fired boiler dating from the construction of the building heated the water for the radiators. A 6.0kW electric water heater provided hot water for the retail store and the second-floor apartment, and 460,000 BTU/hour commercial natural gas boiler heated the water for the laundromat.
Working with our engineering staff, plans were made to integrate all three systems with a solar heating system. First, the oil-fired boiler was replaced with a heat exchanger drawing energy from the natural gas boiler to heat the hydronic system. The chimney space was used as conduit for the solar heating fluid pipes from the roof to the mechanical room. Next the electric water heat was removed and the hot water supply of the apartment was connected to the hot water storage tank supplied by the solar storage tank supplemented by the natural gas-fired boiler.
Our Solcan 2101 Solar Thermal Collectors were installed on the roof, and the pump, gauges and controls were installed in the basement mechanical room. To eliminate the risk of freezing, the collectors use a mixture of propylene glycol and water along with a heat exchanger. At the time of commissioning, this solar system was expected to pay back its investment in less than ten years with stable energy costs, but it will achieve a faster payback when costs increase.
A year after the system was commissioned, Solcan installed fan-coil units for the building’s air conditioning, which allows incoming cold water to be used for the system. During the day, and especially on sunny days, there is a large flow of cold water available that is able to cool the upstairs apartment, retail space, and laundromat simultaneously.
The Beach Solar Laundromat was one of the solar projects featured in Canadian Geographic (April 2008) in the article “Solar Power”.
The Gentle Rain (Stratford)
A 10kW solar PV system was installed at the Gentle Rain Natural Health Food Store in Stratford, Ontario in 2008 and went into commission in August of that same year. The system comprises 60 Sharp PV modules, each rated at 165W and 24 VDC (9.9kW), feeding into two Fronius 5100 inverters. The electricity feeds into the inverters at approximately 300VDC and into the grid at 240VAC. The system was initially installed under RESOP at 42¢/kWh, but subsequently changed to the now-inoperative microFIT Program at 80.2¢/kWh.
In its first year, this system produced 11,018 kWh of electricity and generated $8,836 in revenue for its owners. The estimated system cost wast $85,000, and it has a payback of less than ten years.
Walkerton
A 3.5kW solar PV system was installed near Walkerton, ON in late 2012. The system comprises 15 Sharp 235W PV modules, feeding into a Midnite Solar controller and a Magnum 4400W inverter with a 8500 Ah battery bank.
