Cedarwood under construction.
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Eastern Mennonite University and Altadena Energy &
Solar are cooperating on a solar hot water system for EMU’s new Cedarwood
residence hall, which is scheduled to open in August, 2009. The solar hot
water system will preheat the domestic hot water for the new facility,
saving over 50% of the natural gas consumption associated with hot water
preparation for the 120-student dormitory.
Cedarwood, which is replacing EMU’s 39-year-old Oakwood residence, is both
a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and US
Energystar-rated building.
“Energy savings from the solar hot water system is estimated to be 2900
therms per year, which is over 2600 gallons of gasoline equivalent (GGE)
per year, or 528 tons of CO2 over its 30-year lifetime,” said Hans W.
Rosenberger, president of Altadena Energy and Solar based in
Altadena, Calif.
“The hot water system will dramatically reduce natural gas consumption,
which will also decrease the energy costs and price volatility for the
university,” Rosenberger said. “Solar system performance will be displayed
for the students in the building lobby and simultaneously recorded by the
building management system for further validation and analysis.”
The solar hot water service will be provided to Eastern Mennonite
University under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) from Altadena
Energy & Solar. The system will be built and commissioned in late summer
2009.