Why Solar Pool Heating?

The YMCA's executive director, Reid Stangel, is a strong supporter of renewable energy, and knew the members of this small dairy farming community would supoort and benefit from the solar installation. Some areas considered by the YMCA when deliberating whether or not to go solar were:

• The goals of the YMCA and how solar energy supported those goals

• The ability for the YMCA to play a leadership role in the community for renewable energy
• The energy agreement could act as a hedge against raising costs of fossil fuels
• Regardless of the availability of fossil fuels supplies, the sun will meet a portion of the YMCA's energy needs
• The economic benefit for the sale of the solar energy stays within the U.S. and is not exported overseas
• The positive environmental benefits directly impact the local community

How the solar system works:   

Solar technology used at the YMCA is relatively simple. The sun shines on a glass-covered collector, heating the fluid inside the collector (a food grade anti-freeze type solution). The fluid flows through a series of openings (channels) contained in the heat absorbing copper plates encased in the collector. Temperature sensors detect when more hot water is needed. The heated fluid is then pumped through piping to a heat exchanger that can be placed in front of the boiler. Inside the heat exchanger, the heated fluid then releases it’s energy to the cooler water flowing around the tubing inside the heat exchanger. The cooled fluid then returns to the collector for reheating and the process continues. The solar energy is continuously metered and all information is available either by viewing the on-site meter or through a password-protected system over the Internet. The solar collectors for most applications are roof mounted, but depending upon the installation, ground mounting the collectors may be the best option.