[Greenbuilding] Solar Hot Water

[barbara deane-gillett]

where are you?  use resources like www.findsolar.com or www.seia.org your local solar assn like www.nesea.org  or www.nhsea.org 
 
since when does an arch listen to a contractor about how wonderful their product or service is .  get references, call them and followup
 
in general terms they are both right.  flat plate is more common in europe and us, vac tubes in china(where there over 1000 mnfrs and billions of tubes installed.) but it's your specific project and the costs and performance associated with it that will determine the best result for your client .  so you need more details.  have them each propose a specific system , performance and price based on the job requirements.   given the low total cost ( say 10k) and an arch fee on small projects of 15% you can't spend more than 15 hours on this start to finish.
 
of all your green possibilities, renewable energy apps are the only ones that actually produce more energy with no gh gasses. solar dhw is one of trhe best./
 
solar dhw with 60-100 sq.ft  budget 5-10k used year round pays back year round
 
solar heat with 500 sq.ft budget 50k   used winter only
 
solar cooling  perhaps the same ditto  same system  used summer only
 
> Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 21:52:21 -0500> From: rnlarch at usa.net> To: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org> Subject: [Greenbuilding] Solar Hot Water> > Hi! I need help sorting out some mixed signals I am getting regarding solar> hot water. I am an architect trying to advocate for green building methods in> my area, but in this instance I am getting recommendations from a couple of> different contractors that are conflicting, and I thought the people on this> board could help me sort it out with their much greater experience.> One the one hand is the guy installing evacuated tube solar- in this case> Sunda- Seido products. I'm being told that not only will the water be hot> enough to heat the building in winter with either hydro air or radiant floor> heat, but that we will be able to convert the heat to cold air in summer using> an adsorption process (and another piece of equipment, obviously).> The other contractor doesn't deny these possibilities, but seems to regard> them as new-fangled and untested. He recommends a flat plate collector- (I> thing AEC brand?). He is a much more established person in the field- the> first guy has a reputation as relatively flaky)> I'm not sure what to conclude- the evacuated tube technology definitely seems> to be available, and not entirely wacky- in fact it makes a lot of sense to> me. But if I recommend it to a client, am I making them a guinea pig?> > Thanks in advance!> Rebecca Weld, > Registered Architect and LEED AP > > > > _______________________________________________> Greenbuilding email list> Environmentally-preferable design, construction, building elements> List info: http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org> List email: Greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org> Managed by BuildingGreen, Inc. http://www.buildinggreen.com> publisher of Environmental Building News and GreenSpec> Hosted and archived by REPP / CREST http://www.crest.org> To get on the list:> http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org> or mailto:greenbuilding-request at listserv.repp.org?subject=unsubscribe> To get off the list:> http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org> or mailto:greenbuilding-request at listserv.repp.org?subject=unsubscribe