50% Heat Savings with SolarWall, According to New Report

A landmark study with momentous implications has just been released by the engineering consulting company Battle McCarthy in Berkshire, England. The report is based on twelve months of independent monitoring and shows that the SolarWall® solar air collector can displace over 50% of the total heat energy used in industrial buildings. Under new building code guidelines in the United Kingdom, all new industrial and commercial buildings must include 10% renewable energy, which is now verifiably achievable with the SolarWall technology.

Battle McCarthy monitored the newly retrofitted 410 metre squared SolarWall system at the CA Group Roll Mill in County Durham, UK, for twelve months, from April 2006 to March 2007. The study showed that the system reduced the demand for the conventional heaters by 27,260 cubic meters of gas, or 303,543 kWh. This is equivalent to a 51% decrease in gas consumption, when compared against the previous year’s usage. The system also displaced 58.9 tonnes of CO2. These are phenomenal savings, and speak to the attractiveness of the solar thermal technology from both the perspective of governments trying to craft energy and CO2 policies, and companies aiming to reduce energy expenditures.

The SolarWall air heating system heats the ventilation air that is required in commercial and industrial buildings using a patented unglazed perforated collector. Ventilation heating is typically one of the largest single energy requirements for commercial and industrial buildings, which is why solar air heating can generate such significant overall energy reductions. Demand for the SolarWall technology is strong because it generates such a compelling business case, in terms of both ROI, and the system’s life cycle cost savings. Furthermore, it is ideally suited to commercial, industrial and institutional clients, which are the largest consumers of energy and emitters of CO2.