WASHINGTON, DC:  Installation of a 14 panel solar thermal system was completed at an apartment complex in historic Adams Morgan earlier this week.

Solar Energy Services, Inc., a Maryland based solar contractor, was engaged by Skyline Innovations to design and install the solar water heating system that will act as a pre-heat to the 33 units that use the building’s conventional heating system.

Real Estate Agency Literally Giving Away Money for Solar Installations

At the risk of appearing to favor one of the cooler real estate agents in town, I’ll just pass on the news that Green D.C. Realty is putting up its own money to entice homebuyers to put solar thermal installations on their new purchases. They’re calling it a “solar home coupon”: You buy a house with them, and they give you $2,000 towards the setup with Solar Energy Services, which will also help arrange near-term financing to tide you over until the federal and city tax credits come through.

As we saw with my story a few weeks ago, local solar companies are trying really really hard to get people over the hump to their first solar purchase. Green D.C. Realty is betting that the incentive will bring in enough business to make good on their investment.

WASHINGTON, DC:  3501 13th St. NW is the latest address to have a solar thermal system installed.  The multi-family housing unit now has solar collectors on the roof, installed by Maryland solar contractor Solar Energy Services, Inc. to pre-heat the building’s existing conventional water heater.

The solar system includes 32 solar thermal collectors, south-facing on the building’s roof, closed-loop plumbed to 2, 806 gallon tanks.  The system is expected to significantly reduce the building’s utility bill by offsetting their water heating load with solar.

WASHINGTON, DC:  Solar Energy Services, Inc. has been contracted by Skyline Innovations, a third party solar developer, to install and commission a solar water heating system for a 42-unit apartment complex in Washington, DC.

The solar water heating system, consisting of 32 solar thermal panels and a 1,600 gallon tank, is slated to provide up to 70% of the building’s hot water load, saving the building an average of $3,000 annually.

Click HERE for more info and pics

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Crosstown Properties, LLC – Multifamily Solar Water Heating (Completed July 2010) – Washington DC

SES was engaged by a third party solar project developer to install a 32 panel (1280 SF) solar water heating system for an occupied apartment building in Washington D.C. The system included the installation and integration of 1600 gallons of additional solar storage in non-pressurized tanks. The system is designed to offset approximately 70% of the water heating load for this 45 unit apartment building. The solar developer provided all of the capital to install the system at no cost to the building owner. The building owner receives clean energy at a discount to their traditional natural gas, achieving a monthly savings immediately upon commissioning of the system.

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HAVRE DE GRACE, MD:  Solar Energy Services, Inc. just finished installing a solar water heating system at Laurrapin Grille in Havre de Grace, MD.  The system includes two, 80-gallon tanks and four, 4′ x 8′ solar thermal panels on the southerly facing roof.  The system is expected to offset the restaurant’s hot water load by at least 50%.

COLLEGE PARK, MD:  Earlier this week Solar Energy Services, Inc. completed the installation of two separate solar energy systems at the Cherry Hill Campground.

The solar domestic hot water system consists of 10 panels, for a total of 400 square feet of collectors integrated with four, 120 gallon solar storage tanks, each with dual heat exchangers. On the same roof, SES installed a 22-panel solar pool heating system (920 square feet) designed to heat the main swimming pool during the spring and fall, saving Cherry Hill Management a tremendous amount of energy and money.

As part of the installation, SES also replaced the existing inefficient boilers with high efficiency modulating, condensing boilers (natural gas) integrated with the solar system to provide backup energy for domestic water heating. SES also installed crossover valves to allow Cherry Hill to divert solar energy to the secondary pool when the main pool reaches desired temperatures.

Post Install Info and Pics

COLLEGE PARK, MD:  Solar Energy Services, Inc. partnered with Skyline Innovations of Washington, DC, to install a solar water heating system at the College Park Carwash.

The thermal system utilizes six 30-tube Apricus evacuated tube collectors and two 120 gallon Vaughn Solar Sepco tanks.

More Information and Post-Install Pics

WEST CHESTER, PA:  Solar Energy Services, Inc. recently finished a solar thermal installation for the Housing Authority of Chester County (HACC).

SES was contracted by Johnson Controls Inc. to design, furnish, and install a solar water heating system that would offset a significant portion of the 90-person public housing facility’s conventional hot water load.

The system includes ten 4′ x 8′ flat plate collectors, mounted to the roof and with a closed=loop plumbing system, attached to three 120-gallon Vaughn Solar Sepco tanks.

 

Post-Install Pics

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Kratovil Jobs Tour Makes Stop in Severna Park; Witnesses Solar Energy Cutting Costs, Protecting the Environment, and Creating Jobs

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Frank Kratovil continued his First District Jobs Tour with a stop in Severna Park, where he visited a work site with the owner of a local solar energy firm that has taken advantage of recent green energy initiatives to grow and hire new workers.

With Congress in recess this week, Rep. Kratovil has been touring communities throughout the First District, meeting with small business owners, visiting manufacturing hubs, and listening to the men and women on the front line of job creation to see firsthand the continuing challenges faced by small business owners and employees in the current economic environment. Kratovil has made job creation a top priority of his first term in Congress, introducing a number of proposals to empower small businesses to create new jobs here in Maryland.

This morning, Kratovil’s Jobs Tour stopped in Severna Park, where Rep. Kratovil joined local entrepreneur Rick Peters at a work site where his company had recently installed solar water heating panels to help homeowners reduce their energy costs. Mr. Peters is President of Solar Energy Services (SES), a small business located in Millersville that has added jobs this year as a result of the Recovery Act, and stands to grow even further if Congress passes energy legislation creating new incentives for renewable energy.

“Renewable energy is one of the most efficient and cost cutting ways to, protect our environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create good jobs in an emerging field,” said Rep. Kratovil. “Instead of constantly focusing on big business and big banks, Congress need to focus on empowering small businesses like SES so that they are able to create more good paying jobs in our communities, and the families that install these new technologies will start to save on their energy bills.”

SES has grown its workforce by 25% this year, after benefitting significantly from stimulus funding that allowed Maryland to continue its solar grant program. SES would be able to expand even further and create additional jobs if the Senate acted to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act, legislation that Rep. Kratovil backed in the House of Representatives to create new incentives for renewable energy and a more stable market for small businesses that focus on renewable energy solutions.

“Our small business has been able to grow because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Maryland’s solar grant programs. If Congress passes the energy legislation that Rep. Kratovil backed, we could create even more jobs and help even more citizens and businesses enjoy the benefits of solar energy – whether it’s solar water heating or solar electric. I would like to thank Rep. Kratovil for taking the time to learn about our small business and for his support of common-sense energy proposals that create jobs, save money, and encourage clean, domestic, renewable energy,” said Peters.

Kratovil has made small business job creation a top legislative focus in Washington, introducing a number of proposals to create incentives for entrepreneurs to create or expand small businesses. He authored the Small Business Formation and Job Creation Act, a bill to increase the tax deduction for small business startup expenses from $5,000 to $20,000, which has twice passed the House of Representatives as part of larger small businesses tax packages. Additionally, Kratovil authored the Small Business Property Reimbursement Act, which extended a key tax deduction for small business owners that invest in new equipment for their businesses and was signed into law as a provision in the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act.

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