First Solar For Schools Systems Completed

108 and 150 Mile Elementary Receive Solar Hot Water

On the left: Doug Gorcak, the Manager of Facilities and Transportation of the School District #27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin).

SolarBC is pleased to announce the first installations of solar hot water systems on schools under the Solar for Schools Program, which has provided funding for approximately 20 schools across BC. Last week solar hot water systems were activated at 108 Mile Elementary School, and 150 Mile Elementary School, in the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District.

"The expectation is that the solar hot water systems will lower natural gas and electricity bills," said Mr. Doug Gorcak, Manager of Facilities and Transportation for the school district. "As well, it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the need for the school district to purchase carbon offsets in order to be carbon neutral in its operations." He said the Board of Education of School District # 27 is very environmentally conscious and was supportive of spending local capital to install the solar hot water systems.

The Cariboo-Chilcotin School District also received funding from the federal government’s ecoENERGY for Renewable Heat program and according to SolarBC Executive Director Nitya Harris this grant availability, along with the SolarBC incentives, will be a motivating factor for other schools interested in installing solar hot water. "With SolarBC now providing 90 per cent of the funding after the ecoENERGY rebate, we expect to see another 20 schools becoming Solar Schools."

The system at 108 Mile Elementary School consists of seven flat plate solar collectors mounted on racks on the schools flat roof. The heated water from the solar collectors is piped to the existing hot water tanks in the school and to the heat pump loop that heats the building. Since 150 Mile Elementary School has separate domestic hot water systems in the two wings of the school, four solar collectors were installed over the gym to feed the showers and two collectors were installed over the other wing of the school to serve washrooms. Both are SwissSol-Veissmann systems put in place by SolarBC Registered Installers Swiss Solar Tech/Pro Eco Energy Ltd., a company based out of Summerland, BC.

Mr. Gorcak commented that the installation company initially computed a six to seven year payback period for the solar hot water systems. "With the recent increase in the SolarBC grant, the payback period has dropped to about four years," he said.