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Edward G. Rendell Kathleen A. McGinty

Governor Secretary
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Acknowledgements

This manual was prepared by the following authors:

Marcus B. Sheffer, President, Energy Opportunities, Inc.

Andrew S. Lau, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Penn State University
Daniel J. Desmond, Deputy Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Todd Reed, Energy Opportunities, Inc.
Kristin Heist, Intern, Horst, Inc.

The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the following who contributed to the completion
of the original and revised manual:

Robert J. Kobet, A.I.A

Joseph Burinsky, A.I.A
Scott Sklar, President, The Stella Group, Ltd.
Brian T. Castelli, Former Executive Director, Pennsylvania Energy Office
Joseph Delinski, Former Associate Director for Sustainable Energy, Pennsylvania Energy Office
Darlene Crawford, Former Associate Director for Public Information, Pennsylvania Energy Office
Elaine Lau, Graphic Artist
All of those individuals listed in this manual who contributed their time and efforts to its completion

This material was prepared with the support of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and
the U.S. Department of Energy. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein
are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the DEP or the USDOE.

Printed in the United States of America.

Reference to or identification of any product or manufacturer is merely for general information purposes only.
No endorsement by the United States Department of Energy or the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection is expressed or implied by this reference.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreward......................................................................................................................... ii

Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1

The Importance of Energy Efficiency ............................................................................. 3

Principles and Fundamentals........................................................................................... 5

Solar Space Heating...................................................................................................... 11

Pennsylvania Solar Space Heating Projects................................................................... 18

Solar Hot Water ............................................................................................................ 23

Pennsylvania Hot Water Projects .................................................................................. 29

Solar Cooling................................................................................................................ 36

Pennsylvania Solar Cooling Project .............................................................................. 40

Solar Electricity ............................................................................................................ 41

Pennsylvania Solar Electricity Projects ......................................................................... 48

Daylighting ................................................................................................................... 63

Pennsylvania Daylighting Projects................................................................................ 66

Solar Potential............................................................................................................... 69

Pennsylvania Solar Projects .......................................................................................... 74

Resources...................................................................................................................... 77

i
 FOREWORD
by Scott Sklar, President, The Stella Group, Ltd.
One hundred and five years after the
introduction of the first commercial solar water
heater in the United States and over 46 years
after the first commercial application of
photovoltaics (solar electric cells), it is hard to
imagine that in the United States today there
are over 125 national manufacturers and
component suppliers selling over $5 billion in
solar equipment per year.
While the United States is the world technical
leader in all forms of solar technology, the only
way solar energy devices and generators will
become more common place is if domestic
markets expand so that industry can attract
private capital to scale-up manufacturing and
lower costs. Therefore, it is up to the general
public, private businesses and state
government to create the climate for the
transition to clean, domestic forms of energy.
Part of this equation involves an initial
willingness to look at your personal long-term
investment. Most people seem daunted in
buying an energy-efficient automobile,
appliance or solar water heater. But that initial
investment pays for itself over a few years and
then the energy and maintenance costs drop --
leaving money in your pocket. Americans are
always characterized as short-term investors
while our international competitors in Japan and
elsewhere have a long-term view. For
example, the United States has nearly 1 million
buildings with solar water heating; the City of
Tokyo (Japan) has over 1.5 million buildings
with solar water heating. Tokyo accomplished
this in half the time that it took the entire United
States to do so.
New technologies create new jobs, not only in
the United States, but worldwide. Over
65 percent of U.S. photovoltaics are exported to
both industrialized and Third World countries
every year to power communications and
ii
lighting systems, water pumping and irrigation
units, vaccine refrigeration and battery charging
services.
Not only are “high tech” jobs created in the U.S.
in manufacturing the modules and electronic
control equipment; jobs are also created
overseas in assembling the mounting hardware,
installation and service.
In the United States, the broad array of solar
technologies could employ nearly 300,000
people over the next 20 years -- an amount
equal to the employment of our nation’s largest
automobile manufacturer! And it is time for the
United States to position itself to cash in on the
billions of dollars of research and development
to reap the hundreds of millions in profits and
hundreds of thousands of jobs.
The Pennsylvania Solar Manual attempts to
put into pragmatic perspective the potential of
energy efficiency in both solar thermal and solar
electric technologies and applications. This
manual’s first printing was a bold and innovative
first step toward educating the people of this
state in harnessing the resources they
inherited, while protecting the environment and
creating new jobs. With the second updated
release and the newly-adopted federal tax
credits for residences and businesses available
in 2006 and 2007, consumers should save
more money and have more reliable energy
and more stable energy costs. As the early
saying goes “Seize the Time.” I urge you to
take advantage of the sun, within the
constraints of your pocketbook, so we can
leave a world for our children that is cleaner
than we found it.
 INTRODUCTION
Solar Energy Works, even in Pennsylvania
The sun is our ultimate source of energy. Our
food, our fuel, and our climate all originate in
the power of sunlight.
Ninety-three million miles away,
thermonuclear fusion reaction transforms
hydrogen into helium, releasing energy in the
process. This energy is created in the center of
the sun and carried outward by convective
currents. Solar radiation emanates from the
surface and makes its way to the Earth in the
form of light. Enough solar radiation reaches
the Earth’s surface in a year to supply 1,000
times more energy than was produced by the
burning of all fossil fuels during that same year.
All that is left to do is for us to take advantage
of it.
Solar energy has delivered heat to buildings
and warmed water for centuries. Over 3,000
years ago in Greece, Socrates described the
basic principles of passive solar design. Cliff
dwellers in what is now the southwestern
United States lived in lodgings that were solar
heated in winter, yet naturally cool in summer.
The Romans added glass to further improve
solar collection and storage. New England
saltbox houses, with two stories of windows
facing south and the back roof sloped to
deflect cold north winds, are an indigenous
passive solar design.
Solar hot water has been produced since the
first dark colored pan was set in the sun. The
first commercial solar water heater was
patented in 1891. By 1897, 30 percent of
a Pasadena, California, homes had one installed.
Hundreds of thousands of solar water heaters
have been installed in the past 100 years for
domestic hot water, swimming pool heating,
and other applications.
Solar electric systems in their current form were
first developed in 1954, by accident, when
some Bell Telephone researchers discovered
the sensitivity of a silicon cell to sunlight.
Research has continued through the space
program and has resulted in practical
applications today such as calculators,
emergency roadway signs, remote electrical
power, and both residential and commercial
systems.
During the past century the popularity of solar
energy systems has waxed and waned with
conventional fuel prices, government support
and public interest. In the first half of this
century and again in the 1970s and early ‘80s,
solar enjoyed tremendous popularity. Over the
past 30 years solar technology has continued to
advance in efficiency and affordability. These
recent advances, continued tension in the
Middle East, and an increasing emphasis on
the quality of our environment have combined
to make solar energy a practical alternative to
conventional sources of energy in many
situations.
The primary driving force behind the last
resurgence in the use of solar energy was the
energy crisis of the 1970s. Energy shortages
and rapidly rising prices compelled us to search
for alternative sources of energy. We realized
that fossil fuels are finite resources that would
not last forever and we began to look for
renewable forms of energy.
1
Solar energy fit the bill perfectly; it was readily
available, environmentally benign, and the
energy costs were free. Thousands of solar
projects were installed all across the country. It
was a good way to reduce our reliance on
imported sources of energy and shield us from
rising energy prices.
Many of these lessons, however, appear to
have been forgotten following the end of the
solar tax credits in 1985. The conflict in the
Persian Gulf during the early 1990s and the war
in Iraq in the 2000s reminded us of our
dependence on foreign sources of oil and the
implications for our national security.
In 2005 the United States imported 56 percent
of its oil supplies and the percentage is
expected to rise in the future. This figure is
much higher than at anytime during the oil crisis
of the 1970s. Much of this energy originates in
unstable parts of the world. Trillions of dollars
have been spent on imported energy supplies.
This outflow of capital accounts for the largest
share of our trade deficit.
A renewed commitment to solar energy can
foster local industry and create jobs. Since
solar energy is a renewable and indigenous
resource, money spent on it is not exported.
Jobs are created locally, and the dollars remain
in the community. The widespread application
of solar energy and energy efficiency could be
used to stimulate our economy.
In the past few decades, we have come to
realize that our continued wasteful use of fossil
fuels and nonrenewable energy has a severe
impact on the quality of our environment. This
reliance results in a who’s who of environmental
problems - from acid rain to toxic chemicals,
from global climate change to oil spills, and
from nuclear waste to ozone depletion. Our
continued reliance on nonrenewable energy
sources is simply not sustainable into the
future.
The environmental consequences of our current
system of energy use may give society the final
push we need to realize that we must work in
harmony with nature, not against it. Solar
energy is a resource that is plentiful and
2
distributed more equitably than nonrenewable
energy sources. Its use can be sustained
indefinitely.
Solar and other sources of renewable energy
offer the promise of a clean, reliable, and
homegrown energy supply that can benefit our
economy and the environment. Solar energy is
versatile. It can provide heat, light, cooling, and
electricity. Solar energy can also be utilized
indirectly to grow plants that can be converted
to fuel.
Improvements in solar technologies and the
continued rise in energy costs have made the
application of solar energy practical today. This
manual presents general information on the
ways we can utilize solar energy and highlights
many existing solar projects from around the
commonwealth. The manual is separated into
chapters on the importance of energy
efficiency, solar fundamentals, space heating,
hot water, cooling, electricity, and the long-term
potential for solar energy. The final section lists
resources where more information can be
obtained.
Pennsylvania’s moderately temperate climate is
often cloudy and is not ideal for the collection
of solar energy. However, the numerous
exciting projects displayed in this manual
demonstrate that solar energy is a practical
source of energy today, not just in the future.
These projects represent but a small fraction of
the thousands of solar energy systems installed
throughout the state. Each project clearly
demonstrates that when solar applications
utilize technology appropriate to our climate,
solar energy works safely, reliably,
economically, and cleanly even in a sometimes
cold and often cloudy state like Pennsylvania.
 THE IMPORTANCE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY
People long for an energy source that is
completely safe, clean, economical, and
plentiful. Unfortunately, there is no energy
source that is perfectly safe and clean, nor
abundant without limit or cost, including solar
energy. The bottom line is that all energy has
its cost.
The most basic collection and use of solar
energy requires materials, labor and costs. The
more energy that is needed, the greater the
size and cost of the solar energy system. Even
a well-designed system requires some type of
back-up fuel that also costs money.
Therefore, it is in our best interest to reduce our
energy consumption as much as possible no
matter what our source of energy. Reducing
energy use, or “energy conservation,” once
evoked images of sacrifice. Conservation was
once viewed by some as “freezing in the dark.”
This is an extreme position; energy
conservation can be achieved by simply
eliminating wasteful practices with little or no
sacrifice.
Energy is also conserved when doing a job
more efficiently. An energy efficient device
produces the same or better result while using
less energy. Therefore, energy consumption
can be reduced in two ways: 1.) by changing
our practices through conservation and 2.) by
using technologies that are more efficient.
This combination of energy-efficient technology
and energy-conserving behavior has already
had a significant impact on American society.
From 1973 to 1986 the United States energy
consumption per dollar of GNP decreased by
about 30 percent. Per capita energy
consumption went down by 12 percent during
the same period. But as government support
waned in the 1980s and ‘90s, further progress
stagnated. By 1998, per capita energy use was
only 1 percent below the level in 1973. Energy
consumption per dollar of GNP did continue to
decrease slightly (7 percent) from 1986 to 1998.
3
Using the sun’s energy is not strictly an
economic decision. Investments in solar
energy should be weighed against similar
investments in energy conservation and
efficiency. Combining energy conservation and
solar energy is one way to reduce the use of
conventional energy sources. Keep in mind
that using solar energy does not compete with
other options; it complements them. For
example, reducing a building’s heating load with
extra insulation will improve a solar system’s
ability to heat it.
There are many other ways to reduce energy
use, ranging from no-cost and low-cost
measures to major investments. Consider the
reduction of energy used to heat water for
showering, as an example of the many options
for combining energy conservation and solar
energy. Water and energy use could be
reduced at no cost by simply adjusting the
faucets and turning down the flow when
showering. This is a direct and effective way to
reduce water use and the energy used to heat
it. If more flow is needed, say for rinsing hair,
the next step might be to install a flow control
valve ($5) on the showerhead, making it easier
to adjust the flow. Another option would be to
install a low-flow showerhead ($10-$20). In
most cases, the cost of these two devices
would be recovered in fuel and water bill
savings in a few months. Savings come both
from improvements in the technology (shower
head and control valve), and in reducing usage
by turning down the flow.
Once flow is reduced, there are other
opportunities that can further lower energy use
for heating the water. Adding an insulating
blanket ($15-25) to a water heater reduces heat
loss. These are readily available in do-it-
yourself kits. Thus far, an investment of $40 has
potentially reduced the energy used to heat
water for showering by 50 percent or more.
Reducing water usage enables a solar water
heating system to provide your hot water needs
more easily. If less hot water is required, fewer
solar panels and smaller storage tanks are
needed. A lower usage level means a solar
water heating system can provide a larger
portion of the hot water load. Without the initial
energy conservation measures the solar water
heating system would have been much larger
and more expensive.

All energy systems, including solar, must work

hand in hand with energy efficiency to be most
effective. This holds true for all building
systems, in fact, all forms of energy use. First,
we should reduce energy usage through energy
conservation and efficiency techniques. Then,
we should incorporate the use of renewable
energy.

If our demand for energy, in any form, is low, it

will be much easier for renewable sources to
provide the energy that current and future
generations will require. The full implementation
of renewable technologies requires that we are
not wasteful. It is wise to do as much as
practical to reduce your energy consumption to
maximize the return on your investment in solar
energy.

4
 PRINCIPLES AND FUNDAMENTALS
The Solar Resource
One of the most commonly asked questions
about solar energy is: “When will it provide a
significant portion of our energy needs?” The
answer is that the sun already provides all the
energy required for life on earth.
Without the sun’s energy, the earth would be a
dead planet. Even the fossil fuels we use are
stored solar energy from plants and animals that
thrived on the sun’s energy a long time ago.
Before the Industrial Revolution, most of our
energy came from natural flows of energy such
as water, wind, plants and animals. It is only in
the last few centuries that we have exploited
the stored fossil fuels and lost touch with our
most significant energy source, the sun.
To understand solar’s potential, we must first
realize that it is a powerful but diffuse source of
energy. The sun’s incredible power is spread
over the planet. The total amount of energy
consumed in Pennsylvania in a year is equal
to the average solar radiation that falls on the
state in just three days!
While some areas receive more solar energy
than others, all parts of the earth are blessed by
the sun. Skeptics of solar energy in
Pennsylvania often point out the cloudy winters
and the apparent lack of solar potential. While it
is true that Pennsylvania receives less solar
energy than some other locations in the United
States, we still receive ample sun for all of the
appropriate solar applications.
Figure 1 is a graph showing the average annual
solar radiation for a few United States
locations. You can see that Pennsylvania is
similar to other northeastern cities, but is lower
than some western cities. We receive about 70
percent of what Tucson, Arizona, receives, but
have more of a need for heating than Tucson.
Therefore, energy savings or passive solar
heating can be greater in Harrisburg than in
5
Tucson. The amount of solar radiation
available, however, has an impact on system
sizing.
The diffuse nature of the solar resource leads to
this conclusion: the more energy you want to
save with solar energy, the more solar
collection you will need. Small one or two
collector systems can supply a significant
fraction of the domestic hot water, but will
hardly affect a typical house’s heating needs.
There is an upper limit on savings: you can’t
save more than you now spend on energy. As
the size of a solar system approaches that
upper limit, its productivity falls off. This is often
referred to as the “law of diminishing returns.”
As you add more and more, the savings are
less and less. Most practical solar systems
supply between 25 and 75 percent of heating
needs. Energy saving practices will enable the
solar heating system size to be smaller while
still providing a similar portion of the smaller
load.
Figure 1 Solar radiation on a collector tilted equal to
the latitude for various U.S. locations.
Solar Geometry
In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun appears in
the southern sky (except in the early morning
and evening in the summer). Figure 2 shows
that the suns rays are more directly overhead in
the Northern Hemisphere in the summer
months, and less direct in the winter.
Understanding the movement of the sun can
help us decide the best location for a solar
application.
This relationship between the sun and the earth
results in a summer sun high in the sky and a
winter sun lower in the sky. Figure 3 illustrates
this relationship. During the summer the sun
rises in the northeast sky and sets in the
northwest. In the winter the sun rises in the
southeast and sets in the southwest.
The placement of the sun in the sky at various
times of the year has a direct bearing on the
location and construction of any solar project.
There are four days of the year defined by the
movement of the sun between its high and low
extremes. The sun reaches its highest point in
the sky on the summer solstice, or first day of
summer, typically June 21. Its lowest point is
on the winter solstice, or the first day of winter,
typically December 21. Halfway in between
these extremes are the equinoxes, the vernal
equinox, or first day of spring, typically March
21, and the autumnal equinox, or first day of
fall, typically September 21. The winter
solstice has the shortest period of daylight of
6
the year, while the summer solstice has the
longest. And on the equinoxes, all places on
earth have 12 hours of daylight and night!
Another curiosity of the equinoxes is that the
sun rises due east and sets due west-
everywhere on Earth.
The sun’s position in the sky at any time can be
described by two angles, azimuth and altitude.
These angles are pictured in Figure 4. The
azimuth angle is the bearing angle of the sun
measured with true south as zero degrees. The
measurement is recorded as so many degrees
east or west of true south. The altitude angle is
the angle of the sun above the horizon. When
the sun is setting or rising the angle would be
zero. When it is directly overhead (which it will
never be in Pennsylvania), the altitude angle is
90 degrees.
Based on these angles we can plot the sun’s
movement across the sky for the various
months of the year and construct a chart like
Figure 5 on the following page. This type of
diagram is called a sun angle, or sun path
chart. The diagram shows us the sun’s
apparent path in the sky for each month, and
the location of the sun in the sky at various
times of the day. This figure is for locations at
40 degrees north latitude, which is appropriate
for Pennsylvania.
40º NORTH LATITUDE

SUN ANGLE CHART

7
Siting
Once we have a basic understanding of solar
geometry we can properly site a solar energy
system. Siting refers to the process of selecting
a suitable location and orientation for a solar
application. An important question to be
answered is whether the collectors will “get
enough sun,” or perhaps the most sun. Other
important questions should be considered as
well. Where would the system look best? How
does it best fit into the house’s design? There
are many functional and attractive solar
installations where the collectors or windows
do not face due south.
When assessing orientation and direction with a
compass, be aware that there is a difference
between the south indicated by a compass
(magnetic south) and true south. This difference
is called magnetic declination. Figure 7 is a
map showing the variation of declination with
location in Pennsylvania. For example,
Harrisburg is about 11 degrees westerly
declination. This means true south is actually
eleven degrees west of magnetic south. Also
keep in mind that declination changes slightly
over time, so be sure to use the most up-to-
date values.

Maximum solar energy is collected when the

receiving device (collector, window, or
photovoltaic panel) faces directly toward the
sun. But because the sun moves from morning
to night and seasonally from winter to summer,
a collector would have to follow the sun for
maximum collection. Some solar collectors are
mounted on tracking devices to accomplish this
task. However, most solar collectors used for
solar water heating or space heating are fixed
in one position.

Let’s consider the best orientation, tilt angle,

and an ideal, unshaded site for fixed collectors.
Orientation is the compass direction that a solar
collector faces relative to true south. The ideal
orientation should be due south regardless of
the solar application. However, an orientation
of 20 degrees east or west of due south will not
appreciably affect performance (see figure 6).
Other more non-south orientations can work,
too, but are less ideal. For example, west-facing
windows can collect a lot of winter sun, but are
hard to prevent from adding to summer cooling
needs.
Tilt refers to the angle between horizontal and
the plane of the collector (see Figure 8). The
best tilt angle depends on whether solar energy
will be used year round, like solar water heating
or photovoltaic electric power, or only in the
heating season. The goal is to tilt the collectors
such that the average angle of the sun will be
as direct as possible on the collector during the
months that solar energy is needed.

8
For solar water heating or photovoltaics, the
collector tilt should be equal to the latitude
minus 10 degrees. For most of Pennsylvania,
this amounts to a tilt of about 30 degrees. The
minus 10 degrees accounts for the fact that
Pennsylvania summers are sunnier than
winters and, therefore, the collector should face
more toward the summer sun.
For space heating, the best tilt angle is latitude
plus 15 degrees, or about 65 degrees in
Pennsylvania. Plus or minus 15 degrees on the
tilt angle, or a tilt angle of 50 to 80 degrees, has
almost no effect on performance.
These “best” angles do not consider other
installation and performance factors. Angled
windows are often impractical in passive solar
applications. Angled glazing implies expensive,
tilted wall construction. It is also prone to
overheating in summer and is often difficult to
shade using conventional overhangs and sun
screens. Because of the complications
associated with angled glazing, most passive
systems use vertical glazing (See page 13).
For solar water heaters, an attempt to mount
the collectors facing due south and exactly at a
tilt angle of 30 degrees may require an
unsightly rack system. A study by Winslow
Fuller published in Solar Age magazine showed
that in the northeast and in many other parts of
the country, siting collectors for solar water
heating does not require the ideal orientation
and tilt.
In Boston, for example, a collector mounted on
a west facing roof can perform 83% as well as a
perfectly oriented south facing collector. If the
roof faces south, using an awkward roof rack to
get the “optimum” tilt only improves
performance by 1 percent over a collector
mounted directly to the roof. Results would be
similar for Pennsylvania.
Other factors affecting collector siting are
shading and house layout. Considering all of
these factors can lead to a location for a solar
installation that is far from the conventional
wisdom of facing due south at some “optimum”
tilt angle.
9
This implies that most houses will have a
potential location for a solar water heater or
solar electric system, whether the roof faces
east, south, or west, or somewhere in between.
Even passive systems can be adapted to fit into
an orientation that is other than south. The
decision to invest in solar is made after serious
financial, aesthetic, and other personal
considerations. It should not be ruled out based
on wall or roof direction or tilt.
Siting Tools
Several tools can aid in deciding whether there
is too much shade at a proposed solar site. A
first step should be to stand at the site, face to
the south, and look at the sky in front of you. If
you see a lot of large trees or other objects
blocking large parts of the sky, you may need a
more detailed survey.
The second step is to make use of the survey
tool illustrated in Figure 9 on page 11. After
assembly, put a compass in the tool where
shown. Standing at your proposed site, hold
the tool in front of your nose and look out over
the front edge. All of the objects in the sky that
are behind the tool and out of sight are not a
problem. They are below the lowest path of the
sun in the sky. If there are objects above the
front edge of the tool, they represent possible
shading problems. However, you may still have
a viable site; a more detailed analysis may be
needed.
A third step is to have a more detailed analysis
of shading done. Contact local solar
contractors, universities or colleges. Many sites
with trees and other obstructions are not as bad
as they may seem; selective pruning may solve
the problem. After a professional consultation,
you may decide to go ahead and accept the
shading. If the amount of shading is very
significant you may wish to consider another
site.
10
 SOLAR SPACE HEATING
The sun’s energy is easily transformed into
heat. When sunlight strikes an object, some of
its energy is reflected, and some is absorbed
and converted into heat.
A good example of this process is a car with its
windows rolled up, sitting in the sun. The car’s
windows allow the short wavelength sunlight to
pass through. Once inside, the light strikes
objects and is absorbed or reflected. Absorbed
light is converted into heat, or thermal energy.
Since thermal energy has a long wavelength it
cannot pass through the glass as easily as the
short wavelength light. Trapped solar energy
causes the interior temperature to rise. This
process is referred to as the “greenhouse
effect.” See Figure 10.
The greenhouse effect also works on a global
scale. Gases in the earth’s atmosphere act like
the glass of a greenhouse. Solar energy
passes through the atmosphere, is converted to
heat when it strikes the earth, and is trapped as
it reradiates to space. This basic principle is
employed in every type of solar heating
application. While the type of collector may
change, the concept is the same.
Passive Versus Active Systems
If we increase the size of the car and its
windows to that of a house, we have a simple,
passively heated building. Passive solar
11
heating is characterized by the use of the
structure itself to trap, to store, and to distribute
solar energy. In a purely passive heating
situation, there are no moving parts or
mechanical devices. Heat moves naturally from
hot to cold. Hot air has a natural tendency to
rise. These phenomena are used to move the
solar heat from where it is collected to where it
is needed.
Active solar heating systems are identified by
the need for some form of external power,
usually electricity, in order to move solar heat.
A solar space heating system with roof-
mounted collectors, storage tank, pumps and
electric controller is an example of an active
system.
An advantage of passive systems is that they
are often less expensive than active systems
due to the combined use of building elements
for the building structure and for solar
collection. Because energy conservation and
solar energy use can reduce the required size
of the back-up heating system, a passive solar
house can even cost less than a conventional
home. Other advantages include less chance
of mechanical failures, simpler operation, and
visual or aesthetic benefits. One major
disadvantage of passive versus active is that it
is sometimes more difficult and expensive to
retrofit an existing house with passive features.
There are many different ways to design solar
space heating systems. Most systems are not
easily categorized as strictly passive or active.
Solar space heating systems are often a
combination or hybrid of active and passive
techniques. For example, a passive collection
system such as a sunspace may rely on fans
and ducts to distribute the heat.
The Basic Elements
All solar heating systems, whether active or
passive, have four basic elements: collection,
storage, distribution and control. Each of the
elements work together as a system.
Collection
Solar energy must first be converted from light
into heat, or collected. In an active system,
collection is accomplished by collectors
mounted on the roof, walls or ground. Sunlight
enters the glazing and is absorbed by the plates
inside the collector where it is converted into
heat, which is trapped by the glazing. Air or
liquid is circulated through the collectors to pick
up the solar heat and move it to a storage
medium.
In passive solar systems, collection is
accomplished by south facing windows that
allow the sun’s energy to strike the inside of the
building or a storage material.
Storage
The type of storage varies depending upon the
type of heating system. Active systems can
store heat in liquid or solid materials. Liquid
systems use water or antifreeze and store the
heat in storage tanks. In air systems, the most
common storage medium is rock, such as river
gravel.
In passive systems, heat is absorbed by and
stored in some form of thermal mass. A
number of materials can serve as thermal
mass. Masonry floors or walls, containers of
water, rock beds, soil, phase change salts, or
any other material that absorbs and reradiates
heat can serve as thermal mass. With most
passive systems, if all of the heat collected
were delivered to the house immediately, the
house would overheat during the day.
Therefore, the heat must be stored for use
when needed. This reduces overheating and
stores the solar heat for use at night and on
cloudy days.
Distribution
Distribution is the movement of the heat from
where it is collected or stored to the parts of the
house where heat is needed. In a liquid, or
hydronic system, this usually involves a pump,
piping, and some form of radiation. In an air
system, hot air is distributed via fans, ductwork,
and registers.
12
In a passive system, heat distribution usually
takes advantage of warm air rising, combined
with thermal radiation from the sun-warmed
building surfaces.
Control
Control of active solar systems is accomplished
with electrical devices such as thermostats that
control the movement of heat around the
house. These controls are very similar to the
controls found in most home heating systems.
In a passive system, controls are built into the
system. For example, roof overhangs reduce
sunlight entering the space during the non-
heating seasons. Passive system control may
also require the homeowner’s assistance, such
as the opening and closing of window
coverings, or the opening and closing of
windows and vents. Other control elements
may include “active” components in a hybrid
system such as a differential thermostat that
turns a fan on and off.
Passive systems are characterized by wider
indoor temperature ranges than those of a
conventional house or an active solar house
because the house itself is collecting and
storing heat. As previously mentioned, the
storage system can serve as a control
mechanism by absorbing excess heat for use at
a later time.
Active Systems
The vast majority of solar space heating
systems in Pennsylvania are passive or hybrid
systems. Active solar space heating systems
are generally more expensive and less effective
in our heating climate. As stated earlier, solar
heating systems are not capable of meeting the
entire heating requirements of a building. They
typically require a back-up heating system.
Active systems can easily be used in
combination with other heating systems,
making them suitable for use with existing
structures. They can be used in combination
with a hydronic system, heat pumps, off-peak
electrical storage systems, and many other
conventional systems.
There are two basic types of active space
heating systems, which vary depending upon
the circulation medium: liquid or air.
Figure 11 is a diagram of an active liquid
system. Liquid systems typically circulate
antifreeze in the collector loop to prevent
damage during freezing conditions. The anti
freeze is then circulated to a heat exchanger.
The heat exchanger heats water circulated
through the exchanger or in a storage tank.
Depending upon the storage needs, one large
tank can be used or a series of smaller tanks
can be connected. Once in storage, the water
can be used in various ways.
It can be fed directly to a radiator or a boiler for
hydronic heating. A hydronic coil can be used in
a forced-air heating system such as a heat
pump or conventional furnace.
Air systems operate in much the same way as
liquid systems. Heat is circulated from the
collector to a storage system. A rock bed is
commonly used for storage, but masonry or
water can also be used. Fans are used to
circulate air through a series of ducts that
connect the collector to storage and storage to
the distribution system. Typical systems will be
used in combination with a conventional
furnace to provide heat to the building.
Figure 12 is a diagram of an active air heating
system.
Passive Systems
Passive solar heating is a simple idea. South-
facing glazing and thermal mass are
incorporated into the structural components of a
building. Conventional building techniques often
use energy to provide heat and light that are
13
available for free. Passive techniques work with
natural systems by taking advantage of
sunshine for heat and light. While the basic
concepts are simple, attention must be paid to
the details.
The proper combination of glazing and mass is
essential. Too much glazing and not enough
mass can lead to overheating. The opposite
can result in extra expense for unnecessary
thermal mass. As a general rule of thumb, one-
half cubic foot to one cubic foot of masonry is
needed for every square foot of south-facing
glass.
Proper passive design requires careful attention
to site planning and building materials. Design
considerations can vary within microclimates
and from one site to another. New advances in
building materials, especially the advent of
high-efficiency low-e glass, has made passive
solar even more effective.
Passive solar buildings can be economical to
build as well. Since the heating system is
incorporated into the structure, a savings can
be realized in this area. Furthermore, the
higher building insulation levels can reduce the
cost of the back-up heating system, adding to
the savings. Typical passive solar building costs
vary from 10 percent above to 10 percent below
conventional construction. The extra cost will
vary depending upon the amount of heating that
is provided by solar.
Passive design techniques are not limited to
residential buildings. The same design
principles apply to commercial buildings as well,
although more emphasis is on using sunlight to
reduce electric lighting costs (daylighting). No
matter what the application passive solar
design is a proven technology with an
impressive track record of low energy costs.
Even simple design considerations can lower
heating costs by 30 percent or more.

There are several basic types of passive solar

heating systems: suntempering, direct gain,
indirect gain, and isolated gain.

Suntempering
Suntempering is one form of direct gain solar
heating. This method is essentially solar
collection without thermal mass. All houses
receive some of their heat from the sun. By windows and heavy masonry floors and/or walls
relocating non-south windows to the south side, absorb and store the sun’s heat.
and perhaps adding a few windows, the solar
contribution can be increased with little or no The use of double-pane, low-e glass or triple
extra cost. Reductions of up to 30 percent in pane windows is recommended in
heating costs are possible through this simple, Pennsylvania’s climate. The total south facing
inexpensive method. collector area should be between 7 percent (the
maximum in a suntempered system) and 12
In a conventional house the area of the south- percent of the total floor space of the building.
facing windows is equal to about 3 percent of South glass areas in excess of 12 percent of
the total floor area. In a suntempered house this floor area are likely to cause noticeable
figure can be up to 7 percent of the total floor overheating unless carefully designed and
area; anymore and overheating can become a operated. The specific amount of glazing will
problem. depend upon the amount of thermal mass used.
Figure 14 shows a direct gain system.
Another form of suntempering is the
thermosiphon air panel (see Figure 13).
Thermosiphon refers to the fact that heat rises
naturally and can cause air to flow. In this
system a dark-colored absorber, usually metal,
is placed between south-facing glazing and a
wall or the bottom of a collector. As the
temperature of the air in the collector rises, it is
vented to the space to be heated. This creates
a draw that pulls colder air into the returns at
the bottom of the system. This movement of air
forms a convective loop and the air circulates
naturally. Some type of damper on the vents is
important to allow the vents to be closed at
night or in the summer. Sunlight enters the building through the glazing,
and strikes the walls and floor where it is
Direct Gain absorbed as heat. These building components
are usually dark-colored masonry four to six
Direct gain systems are very similar to
inches thick in the floor and four to eight inches
suntempered systems. The major difference is
thick in the walls. The dark colors serve to
the addition of thermal mass. The term direct
absorb more of the solar energy into the
gain refers to the fact that the solar energy
thermal mass. The absorbed heat is then
shines directly into the building. South facing
radiated to the space as the temperature of the

14
room falls below the temperature of the mass.
Ideally this occurs at night when the demand for
heat is the greatest.
Direct gain systems typically employ an
overhang designed to reduce solar gain in
summer by blocking the higher summer sun
while allowing the lower winter sun to enter the
space. The overhang can be incorporated into
the roof overhang or installed directly above the
collector such as a window awning.
An important feature of most passive solar
systems in Pennsylvania, especially direct
gain, is moveable insulation on windows.
Moveable insulation can range from thermal
drapes to insulating shutters. Without insulation
systems, nearly as much heat can be lost from
a window as is gained over the winter. Another
use of window insulation is to control solar gain
when it is not needed on mild and hot days.
Indirect Gain
Indirect gain systems intercept the sun with a
masonry or water-filled wall immediately behind
the glazing. The wall absorbs sunlight and
indirectly heats the space behind it.
The masonry wall system is shown in Figure
15. The wall consists of six to 24 inches of dark-
colored masonry; concrete, concrete block or
brick. The wall is covered by glazing with about
a one to three inch air space in between. During
the day heat builds up in the space between the
wall and the glazing.
15
As the wall warms it absorbs heat and this heat
gradually conducts through the wall. It reaches
the interior space late in the day and evening
when it is most needed. The warm wall
radiates heat to the interior as well as warming
the room air as it rises along the warm wall
surface. The effectiveness of the thermal mass
increases with the density of the material.
Most masonry walls built in the 1970s
incorporated vents in the top and bottom of the
wall to provide heat during the day by taking
advantage of the natural convection loop
created in the air space between the wall and
the glazing. In theory, heated air rises in this
space and leaves through the top vents which
creates a draw that pulls cooler room air
through the bottom vents. The vents were
equipped with back draft dampers that
prevented the reverse flow of air at night.
Experience has shown, however, that these
vents are difficult to seal at night and can leak
cold air. If daytime heat is also wanted, or to
provide views, double-hung windows can be
incorporated. The windows can be opened at
top and bottom to provide some air circulation.
The performance of a mass wall can be
significantly improved by using a selective
surface on the wall to increase the absorption of
heat by decreasing the heat loss from the wall.
A selective surface is a material that is applied
like wallpaper. These materials have an affinity
for absorbing solar energy and, at the same
time, radiating very little of the heat generated.
Performance improvements up to 75 percent
are typical with a selective surface in
Pennsylvania.
Moveable insulation can be used to prevent
nighttime heat loss. The insulation can be a
curtain in the space between the wall and the
glazing or some type of exterior covering.
A variation on the mass wall is the substitution
of water for masonry thermal mass (see Figure
16). Instead of a masonry wall, containers of
water are placed between the collector and the
living space. Plastic containers are specifically
made for this purpose but any durable container
will work.

Because water is very heavy, special care must
be taken to provide adequate structural support.
The major advantage of a water wall is that it
can store about twice the heat per unit of
volume as masonry. Therefore, less volume is
required to store an equivalent amount of heat
when water walls are used. As a general rule of
thumb, about 30 pounds of water or 3.5 gallons
should be used for every square foot of glazing.
Isolated Gain
Isolated gain systems or sunspaces are a
popular passive solar application. They help
heat the building and provide a room useful for
a variety of purposes. The use of the space can
range from a predominantly plant-growing
space, or greenhouse, to a furnished and lived
in sunroom. Sunspaces can be easily added to
an existing structure or included in a new
building.
A typical sunspace contains features found in
direct and indirect systems. The major
difference between the systems is that the
sunspace can be “isolated” from the remainder
of the building.
Solar radiation passes through the glazing
where it is absorbed by some form of thermal
mass. The mass can take the form of water
drums, planting beds, a masonry floor, or a
16
masonry wall between the sunspace and the
interior of the building. A sunspace requires a
sufficient amount of mass to prevent large
temperature swings.
During the day, windows or doors connecting
the sunspace to the building can be opened to
circulate heat inside. At night, they are closed
as the temperature in the sunspace drops.
Figure 17 demonstrates one type of sunspace
with several types of thermal mass.
The floor is the most common surface for
locating thermal mass in a sunspace. Concrete,
tile or brick are good materials for this
application. To ensure direct sunlight on the
floor mass the bottom of the south facing
glazing should be no more than six inches
above the floor. If the glazing is higher,
additional mass should be located in the rear
wall. If no mass is installed in the rear wall, then
this wall should be insulated.
Heat distribution in a sunspace can be
accomplished in several different ways. A
masonry wall can radiate heat to the inside of
the building. Heat can also be collected and the
warm air distributed to the building by using
vents, ductwork, and a fan or by simply opening
connecting doors and windows. Connecting
operable windows should be no more than
40 percent of the common wall. Vents in the
common wall should be between 15 percent
and 25 percent of the south facing glazing.
Glazing used in a sunspace will vary with the
function of the space. Plastic glazing is
acceptable for a sunspace primarily dedicated
to growing plants but not for a sunroom. Clear,
tempered, double pane glass is a good choice
for a heating function and plant growth. Double
pane with a low-e coating or triple pane
windows should be considered for comfort if the
primary function is a living space. East and
west facing windows are very useful for cross
ventilation but should not exceed more than
10 percent of the total floor area of the
sunspace, unless the sunspace is primarily for
growing plants.
Movable insulation can add to the effectiveness
of a sunspace. It is especially critical on sloped
glazings because summer sun can easily
overheat the sunspace. Sloped glazings can
improve sunspace performance in the winter
but care must be taken to maintain comfort and
minimize heat loss.
Sunspaces require ventilation in the summer.
Ventilation should take advantage of the
prevailing winds during this season. Cross
ventilation and high outlets/low inlets should be
incorporated into the design. The ventilation
openings should be a minimum of 15 percent of
the south-facing glazing. Thermostatically
controlled exhaust fans may be necessary to
assist ventilation in some cases.
Hybrid Designs
Some solar houses combine multiple passive
systems. Some combine passive and active
features. These designs are called hybrid
systems. A common example of a hybrid design
is a sunspace with an electric fan to circulate
heated air from the sunspace to other parts of
the house or to a rock thermal storage bin.
While the system is still primarily a passive
design, the addition of the fan qualifies it as a
hybrid system. Passive system performance
and operation can often be improved by adding
an active component.
Different passive techniques can also be
combined into a hybrid system. Quite often
combinations of passive systems can serve to
compliment each other. A thermosiphon air
panel with rock bin storage under a sunspace is
shown in Figure 18.
17
A unique and potentially effective passive
house design developed in the late 70s is the
envelope house, sometimes called a double-
shell house. The Pennsylvania Solar Project on
page 22 is an example. These designs include
a large sunspace on the south side with a
double roof and a double north wall with an air
space in between. Warm air from the sunspace
travels up and between the roofs, down the
north wall cavity, and under the house. The
space under the house is usually filled with
thermal mass to store the solar heat. After
traveling through the mass, the air then
reenters the sunspace near the floor.
Conclusion
Solar space heating systems can vary from the
simple to the complex, from the inexpensive to
the extravagant. The one thing they share is a
reduced energy cost.
According to a national study, passive solar
heated homes consumed 50 percent to
75 percent less energy than conventional
houses. The same study concluded that
passive solar homes are most effective in
climates with many mild winter days. Whether
you’re building a new home or improving an
existing building, solar energy can provide
reliable, cost-effective heating.
The following Pennsylvania solar projects
represent a small fraction of the thousands of
solar heated buildings in the state. Each
project, and the thousands not mentioned,
demonstrate that solar space heating works,
even in Pennsylvania.
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Three Sisters Farm and Nursery
RD #1, Box 75C 1
Carlton, PA 16311
Contacts: Darrel Frey, Dawn Shiner
(412) 376 2797
www.bioshelter.com

Three Sisters Farm and Nursery, with the Additional sources of heat are provided by the
assistance of the Pennsylvania Energy Office, animals housed in the building, and from the
constructed a bioshelter in 1988. A bioshelter is active composting system. The heat from the
described as a self-contained ecosystem where composting process is piped to a rock storage
nutrients are exchanged and wastes recycled. area beneath the growing beds.
The Three Sisters bioshelter is a combination
passive solar greenhouse and barn containing
an aquaculture system and composting facility.
The Three Sisters bioshelter is designed to
encourage the interaction of animal and plant
production in an enclosed space. It is 105 feet
long by 40 feet wide. The main area contains
3,000 square feet of deep soil growing beds
designed for mature crop production; areas for
raising poultry and rabbits; bins for 700 cubic
feet of compost; fish tanks for aquaculture; and
additional water tanks for irrigation and thermal
mass. In addition, 13 cold frames provide
420 square feet of growing space. In the rear
of the building is a work area and storage
Image from www.bioshelter.com
space.
The “Three Sisters” in the Native American
The various components of the bioshelter are tradition are corn, beans and squash. These
incorporated in an integrated system. Waste crops were often grown together because of the
from crop production and animals is composted, shared benefits they provided to each other.
which in turn feeds the soil in the growing beds. The corn provides the trellis for the beans; the
Crops are grown organically. Beneficial insects beans fix nitrogen from the air, maintaining soil
are introduced to control pests. Natural fertility; the squash’s broad leaves and prickly
pesticides are used as a last resort. vines act as living mulch and protect the other
crops from pests.
Heat is provided to the building in a number of
ways. The primary heat source is the large
expanse of south-facing glazing. Direct solar
gain is stored in the massive growing beds, the
fish tanks, irrigation tank, numerous 55-gallon
drums, and the earth floor of the building itself.
Solar heating keeps the building at a
comfortable temperature throughout the winter.
Even on the coldest, cloudiest days the
temperature doesn’t drop below 550 F. Heat is
supplemented with a wood-fired system that is
mainly used for the comfort of people.

18
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Joseph J. Burinsky, A.I.A
Registered Architect
Registered Landscape Architect
PO Box 512
Hazleton, PA 18201
Contacts: Joseph Burinsky
(570) 454 6491
jburinsky@psu.edu

Joseph Burinsky became interested in double

envelope passive solar home design in the late
1970s. Many envelope homes were constructed
throughout the country, but few worked well.
Temperature extremes in the envelope coupled
with poor air circulation combined to dampen
the enthusiasm for this type of construction.

Mr. Burinsky, however, persisted in refining the

design. The promise of self-reliant passive solar
heating and an almost year-round habitable
greenhouse seemed too good to be true. The
result of his efforts is a design that works well in
Pennsylvania.
Beginning in 1981, the first of seven envelope
passive solar homes were built. The basic
envelope design is a house within a house.
Conventional construction is used on the east
and west sides. On the south a greenhouse/
sunspace heats air which rises and pulls cooler
air from under the inner house up behind it. The
heated air pushes upward to the attic space
where it cools slightly and drops down the
space between the inner and outer north walls.
The air continues under the inner house,
through thermal mass storage and back to the
greenhouse. Thus a natural convective loop is
created, transferring heat to storage.
At night, the air in the greenhouse is chilled and
sinks causing a reversal in the convective
thermosiphoning loop. This takes heat out of
storage and recirculates it around the inner
house. This envelope of air provides a
protective, temperate environment surrounding
the inner house.
Picture Courtesy of Joseph J. Burinsky
Temperature measurements in one of the
homes reveal some insight into the
performance of the homes. On a typical winter
day with some sun, the greenhouse
temperature ranges from 500F to 880F, the
inner house temperature will vary from 66 0F to
740F without supplemental heat. After three or
four sunless winter days the greenhouse
temperature ranges from 46 0F to 56 0F and the
living space at 680F to 720F with intermittent
use of a wood stove. Even after many sub zero,
sunless days the lowest temperature recorded
in the greenhouse was an early morning 420F,
with an outside temperature of minus 15 0F.
The typical envelope home designed by Mr.
Burinsky averages 2,200 square feet. Typical
construction costs are $3 to $4 per square foot
above standard construction. The additional
cost is repaid in energy savings within a few
years. Annual heating costs are typically less
than $100 per year for supplemental heating
which is often provided by a wood stove.

19
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Shelly Ridge Girl Scout Program Center
Greater Philadelphia Girl Scout Council
Philadelphia, PA
Architects: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Contact: Frank Grauman, AIA
215-790-5900
www.bcj.com

The Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia had a

slightly unusual request when they asked
architect Frank Grauman to design an
educational gathering space. When the Girl
Scouts began planning the Shelly Ridge
Program Center, they knew it was important to
combine natural elements of solar heat and
daylight with the functional elements of a
building that would meet the needs of all its
troops. In addition, the space needed to be
comfortable year round for both large groups
and smaller programs. The result was a
building conceived and built with the sun as an
integral component.

On the outside edge of Philadelphia, Shelly

Picture Courtesy of Frank Grauman
Ridge is a retreat within the city. Easily
accessible by public transportation, the site is When it was built in 1983, the building was a
secluded enough to provide refuge from the landmark step in solar architecture. Even today
heat and noise. While a sundial in the lobby many of Grauman’s projects continue to build
keeps track of time, an 860-square-foot on the foundation of solar exploration involved
masonry solar wall provides passive solar heat. in creating Shelly Ridge. Plans are currently
The wall, constructed of three-inch brick, is underway to update the historic building. In the
intentionally thin to accommodate primary use meantime the program center at Shelly Ridge is
during after school and evening hours. The wall being used for after school programs, summer
also contains triple pane, insulated glass camps and special events. It continues to
windows which allow daylight in during the accommodate the needs of a large organization
winter, but are shaded by awnings during the in a natural setting.
summer months.
The large size of the main hall, combined with
the fluctuation in number of inhabitants, made it
difficult to predict the heating and cooling needs
of that area. So, heat provided by the south
facing masonry wall is supplemented by a
fireplace with the flue running through the
interior of the building. The north side is low,
with an overhanging, sloped roof to ward off
winter winds. For summer months, and larger
crowds, small windows on the north side of the
building allow for ventilation.

20
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Stargazers Vineyard
John and Alice Weygandt
1024 Wheatland Drive
Coatesville, PA 19320
www.stargazersvineyard.com
Contact: Alice Weygandt
610-486-0422
askstargazers@kennett.net
Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, about an hour
outside of Philadelphia, Stargazers Vineyard was
started in 1979 when John and Alice Weygandt planted
their first vinifera vines. They soon followed by building
a home near the vineyard in 1981 and eventually a
winery in 1996. Throughout the development of
Stargazers Vineyard and Winery, the Weygandts have
focused on sustainable growing and living. Employing
strategies such as natural fertilizers, rain water
harvesting for irrigation, and solar heating, they have
achieved some amazing results.
The Weygandts’ home was built in the eighties at the
height of energy-conscious design. The double-
envelope house doesn’t use fancy insulation or efficient
appliances to save energy. It simply uses air for
insulation and sun for heat. The south face of the
home has good exposure and is covered in windows
which look in on a two story solarium. The sun heats
the solarium year round. In the winter, when that heat
is needed, the Weygandts open the doors and windows
that connect the solarium to the rest of the home and
let the warm air flow through. Circulation is aided by a
hollow north wall, which pulls the warm air through the
entire house. This method of passive solar heating is
so effective that the only other heat source the
Weygandts ever use is a small wood stove.
In the summer, the envelope structure also helps to
keep the home cool. Pockets of air on the north and
south sides insulate the house from hot outside air.
The Weygandts simply close the doors to the solarium
and open small vents at the top of the north wall to
keep air circulating without open windows. This keeps
the house at a comfortable temperature all summer
long.
While the amount of energy conserved by completely
eliminating the need to heat or cool their home is
remarkable, the Weygandts also wanted a sustainable
solution for their other energy needs. They looked into
photovoltaic systems while they were building the
house, but were not happy with the technology at the
time. In 1996, though, as the winery was being
developed, the Weygandts took another look at solar
energy and liked what they found. They contacted
Mesa Environmental to design and install a system of
21
Contractor:
Mesa Environmental Sciences, Inc.
5 Mesa Lane
Malvern, PA 19355
Contact: Gary Sheehan
610-647-3809
www.mesaenvironmental.net
BP solar electric panels on the winery roof. With some
help from the Sustainable Development Fund’s Solar
PV Grant Program, the solar system was completed in
June of 2003.
Picture Courtesy of Ron Celentano
The Stargazers Winery is as impressive a structure as
the Weygandt house. It is built into the side of a hill so
that the only open face is on the south side.
Constructed from poured concrete, it stays cool year
round because of the earth surrounding it. The one
open face has a large, 25 foot overhang to block direct
sun. This is necessary because the temperature of a
winery is particularly important. Most wineries have air
conditioning and dehumidifying units to keep the air
cool and dry. The Weygandts’ winery stays between
40°F and 45°F during the winter and between 65°F and
70°F during the summer without any heating or cooling
equipment. They do use a dehumidifier part of the
year. It is powered by the sun.
In fact, the 4.8 kilowatt solar system on top of the
winery provides 100% of the energy consumed by
equipment below. The presses, pumps, and bottling
machines are mostly just used during the fall. So extra
energy is sent back to the Weygandt house, where it
provides 50 to 75% of the household’s electricity
requirements, depending on the season. The solar
system is tied to the grid and any extra energy that they
require, the Weygandts buy from the Energy
Cooperative in Philadelphia.
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Campbell Residence
West Moreland County
Contact: Gale Campbell
gacampbell@state.pa.us

Gale Campbell didn’t intend to use the sun to The gas furnace is still used for supplemental
heat his home when he added a sunroom to his heat, especially on cloudy days. However,
house in 2001. It almost happened by accident. Campbell finds that, for a few hours each winter
That, according to Campbell, shows just how day, his passive solar room provides enough
simple, easy and effective solar heat can be. heat for the whole house. Other energy
efficient features in the Campbell house include
Campbell had lived in his West Moreland ranch an airtight wood stove, ceiling fans to circulate
for nearly 10 years when he decided to add a the warm air, and compact fluorescent lights.
garage for his classic car. Instead of leaving
the top of the garage empty, or making it into a
porch, he decided the space would make a nice
sunroom. He designed and built the addition
himself. The room has two, six-foot wide,
insulated glass patio doors on the south side.
The doors can be opened during the summer to
allow air to circulate through and cool the
house. The east wall contains a large double-
insulated glass window, while the west wall is
primarily wood siding. This is effective because
the setting sun in the summer is very hot, while
in the winter it is not as strong. A large
overhang on the south wall also helps to shade
the room from the summer sun.
The most important feature of the passive solar
room, however, is the floor. Eight inches of
concrete absorb, store, and release the solar
heat. In addition, the underside of the floor is
insulated with polystyrene sheets. This keeps
heat in the concrete slab, rather than letting it
radiate into the garage below.

Before the addition, Campbell‘s ranch home

had been entirely heated using an 85 percent
efficient gas furnace. After building the new
room, Gale found that he needed the furnace
less and less. When the weather outside was
zero degrees, the newly added room could be
as hot as 85°F. All Campbell had to do was
open a door, and let warm air circulate through
to the rest of the house.

22
 SOLAR HOT WATER
A common application of solar energy in
Pennsylvania is to heat water. Thousands of
solar water heaters have been installed across
the state. Solar water heating systems are an
excellent application of solar energy because
hot water is needed year round, including the
summer when we receive a lot of sunlight.
Water heating is usually the second highest
energy need, after space heating, in homes.
For a family of four, water heating is
approximately one-quarter of the family’s
energy consumption. Numerous conservation
measures can be implemented to reduce this
cost. Low flow showerheads, temperature
reductions, tank and pipe insulation are a few of
the cost-effective energy measures which
should be implemented prior to considering a
solar hot water system.
The concept of heating water with solar energy
is very simple. A good example of solar water
heating is a garden hose left out in the sun. The
hose absorbs the sun’s energy, turns it into
heat and transfers it to the water. Some solar
water heaters are not much more complicated
than this simple example.
Solar water heating systems have four basic
elements: collection, storage, distribution, and
control. There are active and passive solar
water heaters. The distinction is that passive
water heaters need no pumps or electric
controls to operate.
Solar water heating can be used to produce hot
water for a wide variety of uses. Obvious uses
include washing, cooking, cleaning, and any
other domestic uses of hot water around the
home. However, applications are not limited to
residential structures. Solar water heating is
also common for service hot water in
commercial and institutional buildings.
Another excellent application of solar water
heating is to heat water for residential and
institutional swimming pools. Other commercial
uses for solar hot water systems include car
washes, laundries, restaurants, food processing
plants, and numerous industrial applications
23
requiring low-temperature hot water. The same
basic principles and types of systems can be
used for residential as well as commercial and
industrial purposes.
Types of Solar Water Heaters
General Comments
All of the systems mentioned here, with the
exception of the evacuated tube collector and
batch heater, utilize a flat plate collector. Flat
plate collectors are insulated metal boxes
containing a dark-colored absorber plate with
tubes in it for circulating a fluid. The box is
covered with either glass or plastic glazing. In
the case of swimming pool heating, the
collector may be a plastic mat without glazing or
a box.
Another type of collector is the evacuated tube
collector. This type of collector can be used in
place of the flat plate collector with most types
of solar water heaters. An evacuated tube
collector consists of glass tubes that have a
vacuum between the glass and the absorber
tube. The vacuum in the tube makes them more
efficient than the typical flat plate collector when
hotter water is needed. They are also usually
more expensive to purchase.
The first three systems mentioned are active;
they require at least one pump and an electrical
control to activate the pumps and any valves.
The last three systems are passive, requiring
no pump or electric control.
Closed Loop
This type of solar water heater is the one most
commonly installed in Pennsylvania. In this
design (see Figure 19), an antifreeze solution or
heat transfer oil is pumped through the flat plate
collectors. The collected heat is transferred to
water in a storage tank via a heat exchanger.
The heat exchanger can be installed inside or
outside of a storage tank. A double-walled heat
exchanger must be used to prevent
contamination of the water supply in case of an
anti-freeze leak.

PROS: Excellent freeze protection.
Reliable.
CONS: Antifreeze will require maintenance.
Pumps will require maintenance.
Requires heat exchanger.
Needs electric power.
Moderately efficient.
Draindown
In a draindown system (see Figure 20) potable
water circulates directly through the collectors
and a storage tank. When freezing conditions
are detected by a sensor, valves automatically
prevent water from circulating to the collectors.
The water is drained from the collectors and
any exposed plumbing into the house and down
a drain. When freezing conditions are no longer
detected, the valves close and water in the tank
24
begins to circulate through the collectors again.
Because a valve failure can cause serious
damage to the collectors, this system type is
uncommon.
PROS: Slightly higher efficiency than closed
loop.
No antifreeze needed.
No heat exchanger needed.
Can use standard water heater.
CONS: Reputation for poor freeze protection.
Freezing can occur if only one of the
numerous components fail.
Hard water can scale collectors.
Needs electric power.
Drainback
A drainback system (see Figure 21) combines
features found in the closed loop and
draindown systems. Distilled or purified water is
used in a separate closed, collector loop. A
heat exchanger transfers the heat from the
unpressurized collector loop to potable water in
a storage tank. Water is only in the collectors
and outside piping when the collector pump is
operating. When the circulating pump is not
on, the water drains out of the collectors and
exposed plumbing to a holding tank.
PROS: Slightly higher efficiency than
closed loop.
No antifreeze needed.
Better freeze protection than drain
down system.
CONS: A heat exchanger is needed.
Needs electric power and slightly
more pump power due to open
loop.
Thermosiphon
A thermosiphon system (see Figure 22) is a
passive water heater. The storage tank is
placed at least one foot above the collector.
The fluid in the collector naturally rises into the
tank when heated. Colder water in the bottom
of the tank flows to the bottom of the collector
where it is warmed and continues the
thermosiphon circulation. This type of system is
prone to freezing and is not commonly used in
cold climates. To prevent freezing in a
thermosiphon system antifreeze can be
circulated in the collector to a heat exchanger in
the storage tank.
PROS: No pump or outside power required.
CONS: Heavy storage tank must be mounted
above collectors.
Easy to freeze if water is circulated
Antifreeze and heat exchanger
needed in Pennsylvania for year-
round operation.
25
Geyser or phase change
These systems (see Figure 23) operate like a
coffee percolator. Heated fluid in the collector,
usually alcohol, boils into a vapor. The vapor
rises to the top of the collector pushing some
liquid with it and returns to a heat exchanger.
In the heat exchanger the vapor condenses into
a liquid, giving off its heat to water in a storage
tank. The liquid then returns to the bottom of
the collector.
PROS: No pump or outside power required.
Excellent freeze protection.
CONS: Heat exchanger needed.
Moderately efficient.
Batch
Sometimes called an integral collector system,
this simple water heater consists of a painted
tank(s) enclosed in a glazed, insulated box.
Sunlight directly strikes the batch tank heating
the water inside. Hot water in the top of batch
tank flows to the regular water heater when hot
water is used in the building. To facilitate the
absorption of solar radiation, the batch tanks
are painted flat black or covered with a
selective surface (see page 18 under Indirect
Gain). A reflective material such as aluminum
foil is used to line the box and reflect sunlight
on the sides of the tank not directly exposed.
The glazing should be at least double pane.
Quite often textured and tempered low iron
glass is used to prevent breakage and obscure
the tank. The unit can be mounted on the
ground or on a roof. Incorporating a batch
heater into the top of a sunspace is a popular
method of installation. Because potable water is
used in the batch tank, precautions must be
taken to prevent freezing.
PROS: No pump or heat exchanger required.
Can be home built.
Low maintenance requirements.
Inexpensive.
CONS: Care must be taken to prevent
freezing.
Residential Water Heating
All of the systems discussed on the prior pages
have been used in Pennsylvania to provide
domestic hot water. The most common type
installed in the state is the closed loop system.
The excellent freeze protection is the primary
reason, given Pennsylvania’s climate.
Solar domestic hot water (SDHW) systems vary
widely in cost and savings. Batch heaters can
be home built for as little as $300. Because the
collector area is usually smaller, they do not
provide as much hot water as larger active
systems. Commercially purchased and installed
SDHW systems for families of two to five
people range from $3,000 to $5,000. Do it
26
yourself systems are at the bottom of this
range. Professionally installed systems are at
the top.
Savings from SDHW systems depend on water
usage, system size, system design, and the
local climate conditions. The single greatest
determinant of savings is the cost of the fuel
being displaced. The cost of operating an
electric water heater will range from about $200
to $800 per year depending on local electric
rates. Natural gas prices are typically 25 to
50 percent less than electricity for heating
water. Since a SDHW system can provide 50 to
80 percent of a family’s annual hot water needs,
the savings can amount to several hundred
dollars a year.
For example, if a SDHW system costs $4,000
and saves $400 a year, then it takes about
10 years for the savings to “pay back” the
investment.
Other costs to consider when purchasing a
SDHW system are maintenance and system
life. Numerous studies have shown that solar
water heating systems require little
maintenance and have a long service life. The
average solar system has a service life of at
least 15 to 20 years. Some systems installed in
the early 1900s in California and Florida are still
operating. The major problems with SDHW
systems typically center around controls and
pumps.
A study was conducted in 1990 by Penn State
Harrisburg of 255 closed loop systems installed
in the late 1970s in Pennsylvania. The results
showed that over a 10-year period, they
required little maintenance. Eighty six percent
of the system owners were pleased with the
performance of their system. Average annual
maintenance cost was $13.
Below are some general rules of thumb for
most active SDHW systems in Pennsylvania.
Collector size: Use about 10 to 15 square feet
of collector per family member.
Storage tank size: Use one and one half to two
gallons per square foot of collector.
Collector tilt: The optimum angle for an
unshaded site is “latitude minus 10 degrees” or
about 30 degrees from horizontal in most of
Pennsylvania. Angles of plus or minus
30 degrees, however, have little effect on
performance.
Collector orientation: The optimum orientation
for an unshaded site is due south. A southwest
or southeast orientation reduces performance
by about 5 percent. An east or west orientation
reduces annual performance by about 10 to
15 percent.
For example, a family of four should have 40 to
60 square feet of flat plate collector. At 60
square feet of collector, the solar storage tank
should be 90 to 120 gallons. Collector tilt can
be anywhere from horizontal to 60 degrees.
This means the collectors can be mounted flush
with the roof for aesthetic reasons if desired.
Furthermore the roof can face anywhere from
east to west.
Swimming Pool Heating
Swimming pool heating is an excellent
application for the use of solar hot water. Most
pools need a water temperature of 75 °F to
85 °F. This relatively low temperature
requirement is easily met by the sun.
Residential and institutional pools can both be
cost effectively heated with solar energy.
In residential applications, solar collectors can
effectively extend the swimming season by a
month or more for an outdoor pool in
Pennsylvania. A solar pool heater is especially
helpful in late spring and early summer. With
the help of solar energy, pool temperatures can
be tolerable by mid April to early May.
Significant energy savings can also be realized
if solar is used to supplement a conventional
pool heater.
Due to the low pool water temperature
requirements, a solar pool heater only needs to
raise the pool make up water temperature by
10 °F to 20 °F. Most people are comfortable
with water temperatures of about 75 °F in an
outdoor pool. Because of the lower
temperatures involved, solar collectors used for
residential pool heating are usually not covered
with any glazing. Both metal and plastic
collector materials have been used for pool
27
heating. Collectors made of EDPM rubber are
popular because of their lower cost and
resistance to corrosive pool water conditioners.
In institutional applications, solar pool heating
systems are also common due to the relatively
low temperature requirements. Indoor pool
water temperatures range from 80° F to 85° F.
These systems are usually closed loop systems
with a heat exchanger. Solar pool heaters in
these applications are often supplemented with
gas-fired or off-peak electric back-up systems.
Outdoor pool heating collectors should be tilted
at an angle of 10 degrees less than the latitude,
or about 30 degrees in Pennsylvania. Indoor
pool heating systems used year round should
have collectors tilted at latitude, or 40 degrees.
As with domestic water heating, variations in tilt
of plus or minus 30 degrees have little effect on
performance.
For an outdoor pool of standard depth, the solar
collector area should be at least equal to 50
percent of the pool surface area. For example,
a rectangular pool that is 20 feet by 30 feet has
a surface area of 600 square feet and should
have a collector area of at least 300 square
feet.
As with all solar applications, it is important to
reduce heat loss by implementing energy
conserving measures before installing a solar
pool heater. Using a pool cover when the pool
is not in use will greatly reduce heat losses.
They can increase the pool water temperature
by 5 °F to 10 °F in an outdoor pool. Pool covers
have the added benefit of reducing evaporation
and, therefore, water usage. In indoor pools,
reducing evaporation can enable the exhaust
system for the enclosure to be turned off. This
can result in significant savings in energy and
chemicals.
The simplest system design is an open loop
configuration as shown in Figure 25. The filter
pump is used to circulate pool water directly
through the collectors when there is useful heat
available. When the automatic valve is not
directing flow to the collectors, the water drains
out of the collectors to prevent freezing. The
open loop design has the advantages of
simplicity, high collector efficiency, and lower
initial cost. This type of system is often used for
residential applications.
Figure 26 is a diagram of a closed loop system
commonly used to heat institutional pool water.
The system operates the same as an open loop
system except that the collector loop and the
pool water circulation loop meet inside a heat
exchanger.
Spas and Hot Tubs
Solar collectors can also be used for heating
hot tubs and spas. Because the water
temperature in a spa is in the range of 100 °F,
collectors are usually comparable to glazed
collectors used for domestic water heating. A
rule of thumb for sizing spa collectors is to
provide a collector area that is about one and a
half to two times the surface area of the spa.
For a round spa eight feet in diameter, the
surface area is 50 square feet, suggesting a
collector area of 75 to 100 square feet.
Since spa pumps have large flow rates, a
separate pump is recommended to circulate
water through the collectors. An open loop
configuration similar to that for pools is used to
allow the collectors to drain when not in use.
Spa covers are even more important than pool
covers because of the higher water
temperatures involved.
28
Conclusion
Solar water heating in Pennsylvania is a proven
technology with a long track record of reliable
service. Several thousand solar hot water
systems are in use today all across the state.
Some of these systems are over 30 years old
and still working well.
With the demise of the federal solar tax credit in
1985 the bottom fell out of the market for solar
water heaters. In a way, the loss of the tax
credit did a service to the solar water heating
industry. Many companies with inferior products
were forced out of business. Those companies
that survived and are still in operation are the
ones with the best products and the firmest
commitment to the technology. The systems on
the market today are among the best available.
Technological improvements in the past
20 years have increased the performance and
improved the quality of solar hot water systems.
Collector efficiencies have improved from about
40 percent in the early ‘70s to about 55 percent.
System reliability has also improved through the
use of brushless pumps, more efficient heat
exchangers, and better controllers.
The Pennsylvania Solar Projects on the
following pages represent a small fraction of the
thousands of solar hot water systems in the
state. Each project and the thousands not
mentioned demonstrate that solar water heating
works, even in Pennsylvania.
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Mid-Atlantic Social Security Center
300 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Solar System:
Thermo Technologies
5560 Sterrett Place, Suite 115
Columbia, Maryland 21044
410-997-0778
www.thermotechs.com
Contact: Fariborz Mahjouri Pictures courtesy of Thermo Technologies
Many of the commercial buildings that incorporate
thermal solar systems are one-story buildings with necessary, the boiler brings the water up to the
large roof surfaces. Installing these systems is simple required temperature.
for two reasons. First, the large flat roof provides Evacuated tubes were used because they provide
adequate space for the collectors. Second, water does excellent insulation from cool air, while allowing
not need to circulate far between the roof and the radiation from the sun to penetrate through. This is
basement, where holding tanks are usually located. especially important in the reheating system, where
This reduces pressure on the pumps and makes heat water being heated is often much warmer than the
loss during circulation negligible. outside air. The 360 evacuated tubes are split into two
The Mid-Atlantic Social Security Center faced new arrays of 180 tubes each. These two arrays serve
challenges when it decided to install a solar water different sections of the large building.
heating system at its eight-story Philadelphia location. Mid-Atlantic Social Security Center’s new solar hot
The promise of cost and energy savings, however, water system was installed in January of 2004. Since
made it worth the effort. The result was an innovative then, it has been heating the return water to an average
solution that proves solar water heating can work on tall of 5°C warmer than the supply water. This is a
buildings too. significant increase in a building with a delivered hot
The center started looking into solar water heating in water temperature of 50°C. Those involved with the
2002 because the cost of natural gas was so high. project are happy with the results, and intend to keep
They switched to oil that same year, but continued track of the system as more data is available.
investigating possible solar water technologies,
eventually choosing a system proposed by Thermo
Technologies.
A large challenge in designing the system for this tall
building was the prospect of having to install additional
piping to run from the storage tanks in the basement to
the collectors on the roof and back. Installation of this
piping would have been expensive, and it would have
been inefficient to transport heat over that long a
distance. The collectors presented challenges of their
own. Standard flat plate collectors were not adequate
for the kind of thermal gain required over such a large
loop.
The final design includes evacuated heat-pipe tubes
and a recirculation loop that made the addition of piping
and storage tanks unnecessary. The system takes
advantage of the existing hot water piping that already
runs through the entire building. As water circulates
through the building and up to the top floor, it
encounters a valve. If there is enough solar energy
available, the water will be passed through the valve to
the solar collectors. At the solar array, the water is Pictures courtesy of Thermo Technologies
reheated and returned to the circulation loop where it
runs back down to a boiler in the basement. If

29
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Solar Shine Car Wash
2015 Lincoln Way East
Chambersburg, PA 17201
Contact: Joe Wolfinger
(717) 264 9656

When Joe Wolfinger decided to build a self-

serve car wash outside of Chambersburg in
Franklin County, he knew he would use a lot of
hot water. He also knew that heating that water
would be one of his major operating expenses.
With this in mind, he invested this cost up-front
in a solar water heating system.
The Solar Shine Car Wash was built in 1983.
The solar water heating system cost about
$8,000. Joe figures that this cost has been
easily repaid by reduced gas bills in the first
several years of operation.
Picture Courtesy of Joe Wolfinger
The system consists of a single, 800-square-
foot collector made of EPDM rubber tube mat To ensure freeze protection, the system drains
enclosed with glass. Water circulates through back. The EPDM collector can withstand
the collector and absorbs the sun’s energy. freezing and is able to handle temperature
Each pass through the collector adds about down to minus 40°F. Only the copper feeder
10°F to the water temperature. pipes need to be drained in order to prevent
freeze damage.
The water is stored in a 1,500-gallon storage
tank. When the temperature difference Back up heating is provided by a gas-fired
between the tank and collector is greater than boiler. Gas bills range from the monthly service
20°F, the water circulates until the temperature fee in the summer to a couple hundred dollars
difference is 5°F. Water temperatures of 180°F in the winter. In 1991, the total gas bill was
are not uncommon. In fact, the circulation must $1,800, a good portion of which went toward
sometimes be stopped or the water will boil. heating the floors in the bays.

The system provides 100 percent of the hot
water requirements for about six months of the
year. Even in the middle of winter, it still
provides 20 percent of the hot water needs.
Overall, Joe estimates the solar system
produces in excess of 60 percent of the hot
water for the six self-serve bays.
The solar system has performed almost
flawlessly. With the exception of replacing two
$6 controllers, no maintenance has been
performed. Joe’s philosophy regarding solar
energy seems to be sound: “Keep it simple,
keep it cool, and keep it cheap.” It certainly
works for the Solar Shine Car Wash.

30
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Balitzky Residence
Philadelphia, PA
Contractor: Energy Alternatives
6342 North 6th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19126
Contact: Jurgen Balitzky
Phone: 215-224-4546
Fax: 215-224-3306
jbalitzky@msn.com

Jurgen Balitzky’s company, Energy Alternatives,

designs and installs solar hot water systems for
residential and commercial customers. He started
the business in 2000, after being interested in
thermal solar energy for over 30 years. Mr. Balitzky
doesn’t leave his solar business at the office,
though. He has installed a solar hot water heating
system on his roof, and is currently updating it to
include home heating capabilities.
Mr. Balitzky lives in a 2,400-square-foot home in the
city of Philadelphia. When he first moved in, a gas
boiler supplied both his domestic hot water and the
water for his hydronic heating system. A few years
ago, he decided to offset some of his energy costs
by preheating the domestic hot water using a system
Picture courtesy of Thermo Technologies
similar to those he had been installing for customers.
He installed a series of evacuated tube collectors, For some, 30 percent savings would be enough.
40 tubes in all, on his roof. Immediately, he saw Jurgen Balitzky, however, knows that he can do
drastic reductions in his home energy bill. even better. He is currently in the process of adding
another 200 evacuated solar collection tubes, and
Evacuated tubes are an efficient choice for
increasing his tank capacity to 250 gallons. This
Pennsylvania’s climate. In this type of collector, the
will allow him to completely heat his domestic hot
outer glass tube contains a vacuum. The vacuum
water using only thermal solar energy most days of
insulates extremely well, so the collector is efficient
the year. It will also contribute hot water to the
and less likely to freeze. In addition, the modularity
hydronic heating system, allowing Mr. Balitzky to
of the system means that it will function even if a
heat both his water and his home using thermal
tube is broken.
solar energy.
The rest of the closed-loop system is comprised of The update will require a relocation of the collector
both an 80-gallon solar collector tank and a 40- racks to his garage roof, which has more room than
gallon gas heated tank. Water heated by the sun
the house roof. It will also require three new
circulates through the collectors on the roof, and
collector tanks in the basement. Perhaps the most
back into a heat exchanger where it heats the water
exciting new piece of equipment is the temperature
in the collector tank. When that tank water is above
differential controller. The Thermo Technologies
105°F, as it is many days, the gas heater is not
SMT 500, will keep track of tank temperatures and
used. When the collector tank temperature drops
thermal gain, and can track the information over a
below 105°F, the gas heater operates to heat the
nine month period. In addition, the controller will link
water up to temperature. A differential controller
to a computer, allowing Mr. Balitzky to keep track of
keeps track of the difference between the collector
all sorts of information. He hopes that this system
and tank temperature and automatically turns the
will help him to be able to test new technologies and
pump on or off. Using this system, the household keep better track of quantitative solar data. He has
saves 30 percent on their overall yearly hot water
calculated an expected a savings of between 50
energy costs.
percent and 75 percent of his energy costs once the
new system is installed.

31
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Gilbert M. Freedman, P.E.
49 Sample Bridge Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Contact: Gil Freedman
717-697-2513

Gil Freedman is a consultant on ground-source

heat pumps. He has been interested in energy
efficiency and renewable energy sources for
many years, since his work in the space
program. In 1978, he installed a solar hot water
system on his house just off Route 11 between
Carlisle and Mechanicsburg.
The system was manufactured by Grumman,
Inc. It consists of two copper collector panels,
with convex curved plastic glazing, mounted on
his roof. The collectors are oriented about 25 Picture courtesy of Gil Freedman
degrees west of true south, to conform to his
roof orientation, but Mr. Freedman estimates
that the performance is not severely affected by Overall, Mr. Freedman is pleased with his solar
this orientation. hot water system.
The panels are piped to a 120-gallon storage
tank in the basement. This system serves as a
pre-heater for the home’s standard, gas-fired
water heater. The heated anti-freeze passes
through a heat exchanger that surrounds the
tank and incoming domestic cold water passes
through the solar system storage tank before
entering the gas water heater. In this way, the
solar system contributes about one-half of the
household’s hot water needs, a bit more in the
summer and less in the winter.
Availability and reliability have been excellent
from the 25 year old system. Snow sheds or
melts from the collectors within two days after
heavy storms. Maintenance has not been a
problem either. At the recommendation of the
manufacturer, the circulating antifreeze fluid
has been changed twice and a pump has been
replaced. A thermistor did fail at time of
installation but it was replaced at no cost by the
distributor.

32
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Adams County Adult Correctional Complex
Adams County, PA Contact: Harry Stokes
Adams County Commissioner’s Office hstokes@blazenet.net
111-117 Baltimore Street 717-495-4274
Gettysburg, PA 17325 Manufacturer: SunEarth Inc.
717-337-9820 8425 Almeria Avenue
Fontana, CA 92335
909-434-3100
www.sunearthinc.com

The cost savings that solar-heated hot water can

provide is not limited to small buildings. The Adams
County correctional facility in Gettysburg, PA, is a
great example of how solar hot water can be cost-
effective for large buildings as well.
Harry Stokes was the Adams County Commissioner
when the county began planning for a brand new
prison. Mr. Stokes had had years of previous
experience with alternative energy sources. He saw
Picture Courtesy of Harry Stokes
a great opportunity for the county to take advantage
of solar thermal energy in the new prison. In order to The 100 solar thermal panels that sit on top of the
prove to his colleagues, and himself, that solar facility are manufactured by Sun Earth. The flat plate
thermal energy would be effective, Mr. Stokes collectors use coated copper tubing and refractory
installed two panels on top of the nearby Agricultural surfaces on the inside of the panels to maximize
Center. He monitored their performance on a daily energy absorption. They cover 40,000 square feet
basis. Based on the results, he was confident that of roof surface, and absorb enough solar energy to
using solar heated hot water, as opposed to gas meet 50 to 60 percent of the building’s hot water
heated hot water, would save the county a needs. This takes a large load off of the already
significant amount of money. He convincingly expensive gas water heaters. At the time the new
argued the case to his colleagues, and when the facility opened, the annual savings on natural gas
new facility opened in October of 2003, it was was estimated at $10,000.
equipped with 100 solar hot water panels. The
While the system is still young, all involved are quite
USDOE and PA’s DEP contributed $10,000 towards
happy with its performance. Cost savings are on
this project through a grant from the State Energy
track for an expected 10 to 15 year payback. The
Program.
county has also installed a similar system on the
The Adams County Correctional Facility uses a roof of the Agriculture and Natural Resource Center.
drain-back system to heat the water in a 5,000-
gallon storage tank. The storage tank can reach
nearly 160°F on sunny days, and the water flowing
through it in the heat exchanger heats up to within
5°F of that temperature. The system uses a single,
solar-powered pump to send distilled water up to the
solar collectors. This pump is automatically
activated when the temperature difference between
the tank and the collectors reaches 25°F. When the
temperature difference drops back down to 4°F, the
pump is shut off. Gravity brings the water back
down from the roof and into a heat exchanger in the
storage tank. The domestic water does not require a
pump at all. Building demand, itself, pulls water Picture Courtesy of Harry Stokes
through the heat exchanger and into the two,
subsequent, gas-powered water heaters.

33
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Roger Clark
905 Denston Drive
Ambler, PA 19002
roger.e.clark@verizon.net
Heating swimming pool water is an excellent
application for solar energy. Because relatively
low temperatures are required, a very simple
solar system can do an excellent job of
boosting the water temperature.
Solar pool heaters operate on the same
principle as laying a garden hose in the sun.
Uncovered plastic piping is set up in an array,
usually on a roof, where it absorbs the sun’s
energy for use in the pool. Pool water
circulates in the system. Special care must be
taken to drain the system during the winter to
prevent freezing.
The major advantage of solar pool heating is
that it extends the amount of time that the pool
is comfortable to use. The Clarks find that they
are more likely to use their pool at night, after
work, because it is heated. The warmer water
also lengthens the swimming season by about
two months. In the southern part of
Pennsylvania a pool owner can start using the
pool in mid-April and not stop using the pool
until the beginning of October.
Solar pool heaters often replace or are installed
instead of propane heaters. The fuel for
propane heaters can cost several hundred
dollars a year in addition to the cost of the
heater. Solar pool heaters are practically
maintenance free and do not cost much more
than a propane heater. Given these
advantages, the payback on a solar pool heater
is rapid.
Roger Clark had a solar pool heating system
installed in 1998 and has had no maintenance
problems with it. His system involves nine
plastic collectors manufactured by Aquatherm
Industries. The collectors are located on the
roof of his home and water is circulated through
34
Contractor: Energy Alternatives
6342 North 6th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19126
Contact: Jurgen Balitzky
Phone: 215-224-4546
Fax: 215-224-3306
jbalitzky@msn.com
Picture Courtesy of Roger Clark
them by the swimming pool filter pump. This
simple setup allows Mr. Clark to keep his
25,000 gallon pool, located in Ambler, at an
average temperature of 85°F. As an added
bonus, the Clarks have found that the panels
help to keep the rooms below them cooler by
absorbing heat that would otherwise build up in
the roof.
Jurgen Balitzky, whose company, Energy
Alternatives, installed the Clark’s solar pool
heating system, is not surprised by how well it
is working. He installs ten to twelve systems
just like it each year. Most of his customers
have had pools for years, but rarely used hem
because the water temperature was not
comfortable. Many even had propane heaters
installed but found that they were too expensive
to use on a regular basis. According to Mr.
Balitzky, the thing most customers are
impressed with, besides the operational
savings, is how well solar heating works. The
systems he installs frequently heat pools to
temperatures in the eighties, and often extend
the swimming season a full three months.
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Rudin Home
7217 Oak Ave., Melrose Park, PA
Contact: Andrew Rudin
215-635-5450
PV Designer: Celentano Energy Services
Contact: Ron Celentano
215-836-9958
celentanor@aol.com
Hot Water Contractor: Solar Techniques

Andy Rudin has taken solar out of the country,

and shown that it has a place in the city as well.
His 1917 brick duplex, typical of Philadelphia, is
equipped with a photovoltaic (PV) array, a solar
hot water system, and a passive solar sunroom.
Andy began this project in May of 1998 when
he decided to equip his home with PV panels.
After living there for six years and often
considering solar energy, a change in electricity
rates to allow grid-tied systems finally
convinced him. He had the panels installed just
a few months later. The 36 panel array has a
capacity of 2.7 kilowatts. While actual energy
production varies throughout the year, on Picture Courtesy of Andy Rudin
average the home produces just a little over
what they use. All solar electricity is sold to the of room when he moved in. Fortunately, the
Energy Cooperative through the grid-tied house is oriented so that the back side faces
system. Visitors to the Rudin home can actually south. All Rudin had to do was replace the walls
watch the meter spin backwards on a sunny with low-emissivity glass windows, and he had
day. a passive solar heat source. He uses it as a
sunroom/greenhouse and has installed shelves
The solar hot water system was installed a year to hold plants.
later. It is a drain-down system, whose panels
were taken off a local library. Water is circulated This home is not only extremely efficient, but it
through the two 3 by 7 foot collectors and into a also has an educational characteristic. Rudin
heat exchange tank in the basement. From even refers to it as a giant science experiment.
there, the preheated water feeds into a regular When PECO switched the electric meters to
water heater. On cold winter days, the solar LCD screens, he installed a dial submeter so
system provides little heated water. However, that visitors could continue to watch his energy
beginning in March, the panels often heat water use roll backwards. He also keeps a close eye
to the 115°F temperature that the household on his other utilities, employing a woodstove,
uses. In fact, Rudin now makes sure to turn off efficient appliances and water-saving fixtures to
his solar water system when he is away, after keep his yearly utility costs lower than most
an incident in which he boiled water in the people’s monthly bills.
exchange tank on one especially sunny day.
One element that is surprising to find in this old
house is the passive solar room. In Rudin’s
neighborhood, many of the houses have one-
room additions in back. His had the same type

35
 SOLAR COOLING
Solar cooling -- it sounds like a contradiction in
terms. How can the sun provide cooling when it
gives off so much heat and light?
Solar energy can provide cooling in the same
ways that conventional energy sources are
used to provide cooling. All mechanical cooling
systems operate on the same basic principle:
thermal energy moves from high temperature to
low temperature, from warm to cool, from hot to
cold.
The basic cooling cycle uses a refrigerant that
is compressed, condensed, expanded and
evaporated in a continuous cycle. Heat in a
building (or a refrigerator) is drawn into the
cycle and expelled outside. In other words, a
cooling system cools a space by removing heat,
not adding cold.
Fundamentally, all cooling systems rely on the
latent energy released when a material,
changes from a vapor to a liquid. This same
principle is utilized in active solar cooling
systems.
Active solar cooling systems are no different
than those driven by other energy sources. The
major advantage of solar cooling systems is
that the sun is almost always available when
cooling is needed the most. Therefore, solar
cooling has the potential to assist utilities in
reducing peak electrical loads during the times
of the day when demand is usually highest. By
reducing these peak load periods, electric
utilities can lower their operating costs.
Because Pennsylvania has primarily a heating
climate, solar cooling systems have not been
widely implemented in the state. However, the
growing concern about the environmental
impacts of electrical production, the cost of on-
peak electrical usage, and the steadily
increasing demand for space cooling systems
may combine to stimulate the need for solar
cooling systems.
Active Solar Cooling
Solar power can serve as the energy source to
operate mechanical air conditioning systems.
There are four basic types of active solar space
36
cooling systems: solar electric, absorption,
desiccant, and evaporative.
Solar Electric Systems
A Rankine cycle system utilizes a solar
powered heat engine in combination with an
electric air conditioner. Solar heat vaporizes a
liquid with a low boiling point. The vapor runs a
turbine that powers a generator to produce
electricity. The electricity is then used to run the
compressor of a standard air conditioner.
Several other types of solar electric systems
can be used to operate air conditioners.
Photovoltaics, dish Stirling, and solar thermal
electricity can be used. The following chapter
on solar electricity discusses each method.
Absorption Systems
Absorption systems were once very common
air conditioning systems that usually ran on
heat from natural gas or propane. Solar energy
can be used instead of natural gas to provide
the heat source.
In an absorption system, solar energy is used to
evaporate the refrigerant from a high pressure
liquid solution. The separated refrigerant then
operates as in a conventional air-conditioner,
going through a condenser, an expansion valve
and then the evaporator where the cooling
takes place. The vaporized refrigerant is then
“absorbed” back into the liquid solution where it
is then pumped up to the higher pressure.
Because a liquid pump is used instead of a
vapor compressor, electricity uses is much
lower in an absorption system.
A few companies market absorption cooling
systems in this country. Both commercial and
residential size units which operate on natural
gas are currently available. They were
introduced because of the issues surrounding
the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in
conventional electric systems. These systems
could be modified to run on solar energy quite
easily.
Desiccant Systems
Desiccant systems provide a part of the cooling
energy required in a building by removing the
moisture contained in the air. In other words
they dehumidify the air. A desiccant is a
material or chemical that absorbs moisture.
Most air conditioning systems reduce the
temperature of the air far below what is required
for indoor comfort. The circulating air must be
cooled below its dew point (the temperature at
which condensation, or dew, forms) in order to
remove the moisture. In Pennsylvania, moisture
removal, or dehumidification, accounts for
30 percent or more of summer cooling loads.
Obviously, if the moisture can be reduced,
energy can be saved because the conventional
system need only cool the air. In a desiccant
system, the desiccant absorbs the moisture
contained in outdoor air. Once the desiccant is
saturated it must then be dried. Solar energy (or
any heat source) can be used to dry the
desiccant.
Evaporative Cooling
Evaporation is a cooling process. As water
evaporates it absorbs heat from the air. In dry
climates this natural phenomenon can provide
significant cooling.
A mist of water is sprayed into the air or on the
roof of a building which provides cooling. While
this type of evaporative cooling works well in
the southwestern United States it is not
effective in more humid regions of the country
like Pennsylvania.
Passive Cooling
There are several “passive” cooling techniques
which are very appropriate for Pennsylvania’s
climate. While solar energy is not used directly
to run a passive cooling system, the heat of the
sun drives the winds and other mechanisms
used to passively cool. Since passive cooling
does not affect humidity, it cannot replace
mechanical cooling, but it can significantly
reduce the need for it.
Passive cooling takes advantage of building
design and layout, the direction of prevailing
winds, landscaping, and the natural movement
37
of hot air. Many components can be combined
into an effective passive cooling system.
Shading
There are numerous ways to provide shading
from the direct rays of the sun. As a general
rule exterior shading is more effective than
interior shading because it stops the sunlight
before it enters the building. However, interior
shading is better than no shading at all.
Blinds, drapes, awnings, reflective films,
overhangs, trees, trellised vines, fences, and
solar screens are all effective techniques for
shading windows. Different shading devices
are used depending upon the window’s
orientation and tilt. East and west facing
windows are exposed to a lower summer sun.
Therefore, awnings and overhangs are not as
effective as they are on south facing windows.
Non-vertical glazing presents another shading
problem. It is more difficult to prevent excess
heat gain on sloped windows and skylights.
Their use is discouraged in most passive
designs.
Trees are among the most effective shading
techniques. They not only provide shade, they
also provide cooling through evaporation. A
large tree transpires 75 to 100 gallons of water
a day. This has the cooling capacity of five
average size air conditioners. Temperatures of
10 °F to 20 °F lower in the shade of a tree are
not uncommon. Another advantage of
deciduous trees is that they shed their leaves in
winter and can allow solar gain when it is
beneficial.
Ventilation
Effective ventilation depends upon proper site
layout and building design. Site planning takes
into account the direction of the prevailing
winds and aligns the components of the
building and the landscaping to take advantage
of them.
Landscaping can be used to channel the
prevailing winds into and out of the building
(See Figure 27). Hedges, trees, vines, and
shrubs can all be used to cool the air, provide
shade, and funnel breezes.
Proper orientation and building design can
provide good ventilation. In new construction
the long axis of the building should face north
and south. This minimizes the amount of east
and west facing windows. A porch or garage
could be located on the east or west side of the
building to provide further protection.
Operable windows designed to promote cross
breezes are an obvious method of ventilation.
Wingwalls can be used to increase ventilation
through a particular opening. A wingwall is
simply a wall that projects outward,
perpendicular to the exterior wall. This
projection catches and deflects breezes into the
building and promotes ventilation.
Fans can be used very effectively to exhaust
and to circulate air. Ceiling fans, box fans,
whole house fans, and exhaust fans are
particularly effective at the beginning and end of
the cooling season. Fans are far less costly to
operate than air conditioners. Most use about
the same amount of energy as an incandescent
light bulb. Circulation fans used in combination
with air conditioning can allow the thermostat
setting to be raised by 2 °F to 6 °F, significantly
lowering cooling costs without affecting comfort.
Locating openings in the lowest and highest
points of the building takes advantage of the
fact that hot air rises. The rising warm air has a
way to escape and is replaced by cooler ground
level air. Clerestory windows are often used in
solar design to provide high-ventilation areas.
Another way to take advantage of hot air rising
is the use of a solar chimney (See Figure 28).
This structure is a central ventilation shaft that
38
extends above the roof. Dark colors are used
to heat the air in the top of the shaft. The
heated air rises and exits the top of the shaft.
The rising air pulls cooler air from the building
and up the chimney. This movement circulates
cooler air throughout the building and provides
ventilation without electricity use.
Earth cooling tubes are another passive cooling
technique that has received some attention. A
series of short pipes or a single long pipe is
buried a few feet underground. Outside air is
drawn through an intake vent into the pipe with
fans or by creating a natural draft. As the
outside air temperature drops in the pipe,
moisture is condensed and the cooler, drier air
is drawn into the building.
This technique has not been used extensively
and performance characteristics are not well
known. Potential problems center around
performance, moisture accumulation, and
biological growth in the pipes. Anyone
interested in this technique should undertake
further study. Contacting NCAT (See
Resources on page 83) would be a good start.
Building Materials
Building materials can have a major effect on
the cooling of structures. Buildings with a large
amount of thermal mass tend to stay cooler
longer as the mass absorbs excess heat.
Insulation levels have a significant effect on
cooling as well. The greater the insulation, the
cooler the building.
One building material that has demonstrated
effectiveness in helping to keep structures cool
is high-performance glass with a low-e coating.
These windows provide benefits in summer and
winter. Low-e windows provide extra insulating
value and heat deflection without a significant
loss in winter solar gain.

Conclusion
Many of the passive cooling techniques
mentioned earlier have been used on
Pennsylvania buildings for centuries. Most are
just plain common sense. However, in our
increasing reliance on mechanical cooling
systems we tend to overlook the obvious.
Passive cooling in many ways is accomplished
by minimizing the need for mechanical cooling,
just as energy conservation minimizes the need
for mechanical heating. With an increased
awareness of the impacts of our energy usage,
the growing demand for cooling systems, and
the rise in electricity prices, solar cooling
systems will receive more attention.
Pennsylvania has a climate where heating
predominates, so active solar cooling systems
are not yet in widespread use. Because of this,
very little research and few demonstration
projects are available. The Pennsylvania Solar
Project on the following page does
demonstrate, however, that solar cooling works,
even in Pennsylvania.

39
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Monroe County Courthouse
Seventh and Monroe Streets
Stroudsburg, PA 18360
Contractor: Gershon Meckler, P.E.
Gershon Meckler Associates
In 1986, the Monroe County Commissioners
installed newly developed solar technology on
the new courthouse addition. Prior to the
installation of the solar system, a diesel fired
cogeneration system was in place. Complaints
about noise and odors, and numerous
mechanical failures resulted in the removal of
the cogeneration system. Currently, the building
is heated and cooled with 116 water source
heat pumps, an off-peak electric storage
system, and solar.
The new system utilizes solar energy
throughout the year. It consists of 133
evacuated tube collectors in a drain-back
gravity system, comprising 2,500 square feet of
collector area. The system serves a building of
75,000 square feet.
During the summer the solar system is used to
dehumidify in coming air, thus removing the
latent load from the air conditioning equipment.
The latent load can make up as much as 40
percent of the energy demand during hot,
humid days. Solar cooling in this manner can
help to reduce periods of summer peak demand
for electricity. This type of system is most
effective on hot, humid summer afternoons
when electrical demand is highest.
All air-cooling systems dehumidify the air to
some extent. This is done by cooling the air to
temperatures below the dew point of the air
being circulated. This condenses moisture out
of the air. The air is then reheated to the
temperature needed in the space. The solar-
assisted system in the courthouse is used to
drive the moisture from a liquid desiccant,
which absorbs the moisture from sometimes
very humid, outside make-up air.
40
Consultant: Vipin Goel
Johnson Controls, Inc.
717-730-3213
vipin.k.goel@jci.com
Picture Courtesy of Marcus Sheffer
Desiccants have an affinity for moisture. In this
case the liquid desiccant is sprayed down
through the in coming air, then “boiled off” by
the solar energy in a separate chamber. The
boiling off process drives the moisture from the
desiccant, so it can absorb moisture from the
air again. The system makes use of the intense
solar heat available during the summer so the
heat pumps cool only relatively dry air, thereby,
using much less energy than if the air were
humid.
During the winter, the solar system is used to
perform a variety of functions depending upon
the weather. It has the ability to preheat
incoming air, contribute to the humidification of
the building, or provide hot water to the heat
pumps to supplement the off-peak storage
system.
The Monroe County Courthouse system was
recently updated with new Thermomax solar
tubes. Prior to the repairs, there was some
increased dependence on the back-up electric
boiler. However, the replacement tubes are
expected to increase system performance.
 SOLAR ELECTRICITY
Electricity from sunlight -- it seems like
something for the very distant future. Yet, it is
not only possible, but it is practical and
economical in many situations today.
There are two basic ways to produce electricity
from sunlight: photovoltaic cells and solar
thermal systems. Photovoltaic cells convert
sunlight directly to electricity, while solar
thermal systems use the sun’s heat to drive a
vapor power cycle much like that in coal-fired
power plant. There are several types of solar
thermal systems that can be used to produce
both heat (at very high temperatures) and
electricity.
Photovoltaics and solar thermal systems have
their applications and limitations, but each is
capable of generating electricity in a reliable
manner. The cost to produce electricity with
solar has fallen dramatically in the last
25 years. As the cost continues to fall its use
will become more widespread.
One major advantage of solar-generated
electricity is minimum environmental impact.
Fossil fuels and nuclear power-generated
electricity result in air pollution and waste
disposal problems. These costs are borne by
society as a whole and are not included in the
price of the electricity produced. If all of these
costs were included in the price of conventional
electrical generation, utility-scale solar electric
systems could be cost competitive in the very
near future.
Solar energy can sometimes be used to offset
the need for electricity. Reducing the need for
electricity is, in effect, another way of
“producing” it. A kilowatt hour saved is just the
same as a kilowatt hour produced.
Sunlight produces both heat and light. This
natural light can be used instead of artificial
lighting systems in many cases. A wide variety
of design options can be incorporated into
buildings to utilize daylighting to reduce
electrical consumption (See Daylighting on
page 59).
Electricity from the sun is already cost
competitive in many applications today. We will
41
see more in the future. Currently, the most
widespread production of solar electricity is
through the use of photovoltaic cells.
Photovoltaic Cells
Photovoltaic cells produce electricity directly
from sunlight. The word photovoltaic literally
means “light (photo) producing an electric
voltage (voltaic).”
As early as 1839 it was observed that certain
materials when exposed to sunlight responded
by producing electricity. In the mid-1950s, when
searching for a power source for rural
telephone systems, researchers at Bell
Laboratories began the modern development of
photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaics proved too
expensive for this application, but a need soon
arose in the space program. A lightweight,
long-lasting power source for satellites was
needed. Photovoltaics were perfect for this
application. Many of the technological
advances in solar cells were driven by the
space program in the 1960s and 1970s.
Photovoltaic cells are primarily composed of
silicon, the basic material that makes up sand.
Very thin silicon wafers are arranged in layers.
As the sunlight strikes the top layer an electron
is released which flows to the layers beneath.
This flow of electrons creates a direct electrical
current that flows in wires embedded in the
silicon layers. Figure 29 illustrates this process.
Figure 29
There are three basic types of photovoltaic cells
in widespread use. Crystalline silicon cells are
“grown” and formed into round or rectangular
shapes which are layered and interconnected.
Thin film amorphous silicon cells are gasified
and layered. Crystalline cells are more
expensive to manufacture than amorphous
cells, however, crystalline cells are more
efficient than amorphous. The third type is
polycrystalline, which falls in between
crystalline and amorphous in price and
efficiency.
Many other materials can produce electricity
from sunlight. There is a great deal of research
being conducted in this area, and
improvements occur frequently. One promising
new concept utilizes organic materials that can
generate electricity. Significant progress has
been made in improving solar cell efficiency.
When the cell efficiency increases, power
output increases without increasing the size of
the cells.
Amorphous cells have an efficiency of about 6
percent. That is, 6 percent of the energy striking
the solar cell is converted to electricity.
Crystalline cells have an efficiency of about
12 percent. Advanced materials have achieved
efficiencies of over 30 percent in the lab.
Concentrators to focus sunlight on photovoltaic
cells can also be used to increase electrical
output.
Photovoltaics are modular so they can be
designed and sized to provide the right amount
of power. Individual photovoltaic cells are
electrically interconnected and mounted on a
frame to form a panel. Panels can be
connected together to form an array. If power
requirements increase, more panels can be
added.
Because photovoltaics have no moving parts,
require little maintenance, contain no fluids, and
consume no fuel, they have proven to be very
reliable over long periods of time. Cells installed
20 years ago are still functioning. Today’s cells
are expected to last easily in excess of
25 years.
The market for photovoltaics has grown steadily
at a rate of 20 to 25 percent annually for the
past 20 years. Manufacturers have found many
niche markets where photovoltaics are used in
a cost-effective manner. Photovoltaics are
used on a large scale commercially in a variety
of consumer products.
42
Consumer Products
Solar calculators and watches have been
available in stores for many years. Most of
these small applications were made possible by
the introduction of the thin film cells. Their low
power requirements are easily satisfied by
inexpensive amorphous cells. These cells also
respond better to fluorescent light than the
crystalline cells. Other consumer products
include battery chargers, outdoor lighting
systems, and ventilation fans.
Because photovoltaic cells produce the same
direct current (DC) generated by batteries, they
are a natural for maintaining a trickle charge on
batteries. Solar battery chargers are used
extensively in recreational vehicles and on
boats to trickle charge batteries. Some of these
systems are built in while others are designed
to charge through a cigarette lighter. The
National Guard uses solar battery chargers for
many of its vehicles because they tend to sit
idle for weeks at a time. Even household
batteries can be charged by placing a solar
battery charger in the sun for several hours.
The emergence of solar-powered outdoor
lighting systems was possible because of the
reduced cost of photovoltaic cells and the
development of more efficient lamps. A
photovoltaic cell charges a battery during the
day and, then, the battery provides the power to
run a light. The systems are designed with a
sensor that turns the light on when the sun
goes down, and off when it rises.
Solar-powered lights eliminate the expense of
an electrician, the need to run wiring through
the house and possibly to trench the yard. They
are ideal in applications where light is only
needed for a few hours each night. A popular
combination is the use of a motion detector with
solar-powered lighting (See Figure 30). When
the motion sensor detects movement, it turns
on a flood light, which automatically turns off
after a few minutes. This is a great security
measure. The fact that the light is only on for a
few minutes at a time reduces the power
requirement, saving energy for when the light is
needed.

Figure 30
Another application of photovoltaic cells is for
ventilation. Attics, greenhouses, cars, and
many other enclosed spaces require ventilation
from time to time. Ventilation is usually
required on hot days when the sun shines.
Because PV’s only produce electricity when the
sun shines, they are well suited for powering
these fans.
Remote Power
Photovoltaic cells are used in many remote
power applications. The cost of running power
lines can exceed $20,000 per mile. Installing a
photovoltaic system is often more cost effective
than bringing conventional power to the site.
PV’s can become cost competitive when the
distance to a power line exceeds one-half mile.
In countries without an extensive network of
electrical lines, photovoltaics are in great
demand as a power source. Water pumping
and purification, lighting, appliances,
refrigeration and communications are common
applications. About three-quarters of the
developing world’s households do not have
access to electricity. Photovoltaics have the
potential to provide small amounts of power at
prices far less than diesel generators or central
power production.
In the United States, over 15,000 solar-powered
navigational aids, buoys, and shoreline markers
have been installed by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Photovoltaics have been used extensively in
the telecommunications industry for repeater
stations since the mid-1970s. The National
Weather Service and U.S. Geologic Service
use them for remote monitoring and data
43
collection. The need in each case was for a
reliable, low-maintenance power source similar
to the needs of the space program. The savings
in maintenance and fuel supply costs, not the
cost of energy, made these photovoltaic
applications cost effective.
The military also uses photovoltaics for remote
power applications. Because they operate
quietly, do not require fuel, and produce no
smoke, they are an excellent power source for
remote military applications.
Closer to home, photovoltaics can also be used
to power large lighting systems like street
lighting, billboards, highway signs, and traffic
safety devices. These large outdoor lighting
systems can be very cost-effective in places
where it is difficult to run power lines or where
power lines are some distance away. This is
often the case with billboards and highway
signs. These systems are also cost-effective
when replacing gasoline or diesel generators,
as is the case with traffic safety signs such as
directional arrows and message board (See
Pennsylvania Solar Project, page 61).
Solar cells are used to provide power for
electric fences. The low power requirements of
these systems are easily met with PV’s. The
solar cells charge a battery so the fence can be
operated 24 hours a day.
Picture Courtesy of Marcus Sheffer
Another agricultural use of photovoltaics is for
water pumping (See Pennsylvania Solar
Project, page 63). In remote locations more
than about one-half mile from a power line it is
less costly to install a photovoltaic powered
pump than to install the power line. These
systems are being used more and more in the
western United States for livestock watering.
The electricity needed to power remote homes
can be provided by photovoltaic cells.
Thousands of homes in the United States rely
on solar energy for at least a portion of their
electrical needs.
Remote homes use an array of photovoltaic
cells which produce direct current (DC). DC
electricity can be used directly to operate DC
appliances and to charge a bank of storage
batteries that are used when the sun is not
shining. Some systems convert the DC power
from the photovoltaic cells or batteries to
alternating current (AC) with a device called an
inverter. With AC systems, conventional
appliances can be used. It is the same power
distributed in electric lines from a central power
plant.
Figure 31
Figure 31 is a diagram of a stand-alone remote
system. The size of the system can vary from a
couple of panels on a remote vacation cabin to
an array of dozens of panels which can provide
enough electricity to power today’s modern
household. Since photovoltaic systems are
modular they can easily be expanded at a later
date if the electrical need increases. These
systems have proven to be quite reliable. Many
photovoltaic system owners report very few
problems, and they often have power when
their neighbors do not.
Proper system sizing is critical in designing a
photovoltaic system for remote home
applications. Most systems are sized to
produce electricity for those items which require
44
it. For example, the TV, VCR, lights, computers,
stereo, and other home appliances can only
operate on electricity. Propane or extremely
energy-efficient refrigerators are used to
minimize the load on the photovoltaic system.
The typical photovoltaic system does not
provide space heating, cooling, or hot water
because these uses require too much power.
Many photovoltaic systems are used in
combination with other electrical generation
systems. Hybrid systems can utilize wind
generators to augment the photovoltaic system.
Quite often in remote applications gasoline or
diesel generators are used to provide power for
short periods of intensive electrical use or when
the sun does not shine for an extended period
of time. It is also possible to add photovoltaics
to a building already served by utility generated
power.
Utility Systems
Photovoltaic cells are being used more and
more in connection with central power
generation and distribution systems. They find
their greatest value in areas with expensive
electricity or utilities that are having difficulty
meeting demand.
Photovoltaic arrays can be connected to the
utility grid. The utility provides electricity when
the sun is not shining or the array is producing
less power than the building is using.
Conversely, when the array is producing more
power than the building is using, the extra
power is fed back into the utility grid. In some
cases where the necessary investment in
equipment has been made, the utility is
required to purchase this extra power under the
Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA).
While photovoltaic grid connections were not a
common practice until the 90s, they are
becoming more widespread as utilities conduct
research into the impact of photovoltaic
produced power on their distribution systems.
Several of the Pennsylvania Solar Projects
highlighted in the pages following this chapter
have taken this approach. Figure 32 is a
diagram of a utility connected system.

Figure 32
Photovoltaics have also received a great deal of
attention from utilities as a peak-shaving
measure. Peak electrical demand occurs in the
daylight hours during the work week. In many
cases, this peak period of usage is also the
most costly for a utility to produce. The use of
photovoltaics has the potential to reduce peak
electrical loads and the utility’s cost of meeting
this demand.
Utilities throughout the country have installed
extensive photovoltaic arrays for central power
generation. The largest system is a 6.5
megawatt array in California. Many smaller
arrays have been installed across the country
over the past 25 years, and most are still in
operation.
The cost of photovoltaic modules has dropped
dramatically over the past several decades
(See, Table 1 below).
1950s $600 per Watt
1980 $200 per Watt
1980 $ 11 per Watt
1990 $ 5 per Watt
2000 $ 4 per Watt
Table 1. The cost of photovoltaic modules.
In addition to the module costs, there are the
balance-of-system (BOS) costs. This includes
mounting hardware, switches, batteries,
inverters, and installation. These costs too
have come down, and in 2005, were around $2
to $3 per Watt.
New innovations and improved manufacturing
techniques will further reduce the cost of
photovoltaic power. At an installed cost of $5
per Watt, solar electricity is equivalent to about
$0.25 per kilowatt hour. As the price continues
to drop, photovoltaic power will become
economically competitive for supplementing
power lines and substations, and for meeting
demand increases. When the cost drops to
45
$0.10 per kilowatt hour ($2 per Watt) utilities,
businesses, and homeowners will begin to
seriously utilize photovoltaics for meeting peak
power demands and as an alternative to new
power plant construction.
Solar Thermal Systems
Solar thermal systems produce medium to high
temperatures from 200 °F to 2,000 °F. The
heat can be used for industrial processes or
central boiler plants. The heat can also be used
to produce electricity.
Research on solar thermal electric systems has
been conducted over the past 35 years,
especially during the late 1970s. During this
time, many large demonstration projects were
completed in various parts of the country. Some
plants are still in operation. Solar thermal
plants have not made the transition from
demonstration to commercialization for a variety
of reasons. Research has continued during the
past two decades, on a small scale. Given the
right combination of incentives and price
signals, the industry is poised to build new
demonstration projects with an eye toward
commercialization.
Solar thermal systems have the potential to
provide electricity in significant quantities to
centralized electrical distribution systems.
There are four major methods for indirectly
converting the sun’s heat to electricity. Each
method, briefly described below, has
demonstrated that it is capable of generating
safe, reliable, environmentally sensitive
electricity.
Central Receivers
Central receivers consist of a large field of
reflective surfaces that focus sunlight on a
central point. The reflective mirrors, or
heliostats, redirect the sun’s energy to a central
tower which contains a working fluid. The fluid
is heated and used to produce steam, which
runs a utility turbine.
A variety of these systems were built
throughout the world in the 1970s. Solar One in
Barstow, California, provided 10 megawatts of
power from 1982 to 1988 for the Southern
California Edison grid. The lessons learned at
Solar One have proven very valuable in
designing future plants. In 1996, Solar Two, a
redesign of Solar One, began operation
providing 10 megawatts of power. This time,
instead of producing steam directly in the tower,
molten salt is used to capture and store the
sun’s heat. The use of molten salt allows
energy to be stored and used to produce steam
and electricity when it is most needed.
Research on various working fluids, newer
lightweight membrane heliostats, and optimum
plant configuration continued throughout the
1980s and 1990s. In order for more
widespread application of this technology to
occur, additional demonstration projects are
necessary to test study results.
Concentrating Collectors
Concentrating collectors work similarly to power
towers, that is, they reflect and focus solar
energy onto a smaller receiving surface. The
main differences are that concentrating
collectors are smaller scale, and the receiver is
typically attached to the reflectors. The major
benefit of this type of concentration is that it is a
modular approach to heat collection and can be
installed in increments.
Concentrating collectors can be arranged in a
dish or trough shape that can follow or track the
sun across its path in the sky. Systems are
classified according to how they focus sunlight :
point focus, line focus, or nontracking
compound parabolic collectors.
The most commonly used system is a line focus
using trough collectors. In the 1970s, small
scale systems of this type were used for water
heating and air conditioning applications. In
1984, Luz International Ltd. built the first large
scale system in the Mojave Desert in California.
It produces 13 megawatts of power. The trough
collectors concentrate sunlight on a pipe which
circulates oil. The oil heats up and is used to
produce steam, which runs a turbine producing
electricity. Natural gas is used to maintain the
temperature of the circulating oil at night.
Luz has also constructed an additional eight
plants with a total of 354 megawatts of installed
capacity. The latest two 80 megawatt plants
produce electricity at a very competitive price of
$0.08 per kilowatt hour.
Dish Stirling Systems
This solar electric production method utilizes a
sun-tracking parabolic dish to concentrate
sunlight on a special engine. Heat generated at
the bottom of the engine is used to drive a
piston. The piston, in turn, drives an alternator
that produces electricity.
These systems can be used as stand-alone
electrical generators in remote applications or
connected in a field of parabolic dishes to
produce electricity for central distribution.
Research on this technology has progressed
steadily over the past 20 years. A pilot project
was undertaken in the late 1980s to test full-
scale commercialization.
Cummins Power Generation, in cooperation
with the U.S. Department of Energy, had
installed several dish Stirling systems
throughout the country, including one in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This dish Stirling
system features two technological
improvements. New lightweight membranes
have been used for the parabolic dish. The
improved Stirling engine has fewer moving
parts which should improve the engine’s
reliability and durability.
One major advantage of a dish Stirling system
is the relatively high 31 percent sunlight-to-
electricity conversion efficiency. This efficiency
is higher than any other form of solar electrical
production.

46
Solar Ponds
A solar pond is a basin of water that is arranged The following Pennsylvania Solar Projects
in layers. The layers vary in density or are represent a very small part of solar energy’s
otherwise separated. The top layers insulate contribution to the production of electricity.
while allowing sunlight to reach the bottom Each of these projects demonstrates that solar
layers. Heat produced (water can approach the electricity works, even in Pennsylvania.
boiling point) in the bottom layers can be used
for heating water and producing electricity. The
most common type is a salt gradient pond.
Other types are gel ponds, saltless ponds with
transparent covers or internal membranes.
Shallow ponds, which are basically large batch
type water heaters, are also used.
Several experimental ponds have been
constructed in the United States, Israel, and
Australia. A solar pond in central Ohio has
provided the heat for a municipal swimming
pool since 1978. In 1986, a 36,000-square-foot
pond was constructed near El Paso, Texas, to
provide hot water and 100 kilowatts of power for
a food processing plant. The system also
produces fresh water by evaporating salt water.
A 62-acre pond near the Dead Sea in Israel
produces up to 5 megawatts at a competitive
cost of $0.10 per kilowatt hour. Smaller 20
kilowatt systems are used for remote power in
Australia.
Additional research and development will be
required to commercialize this technology fully.
Since the thermal and electrical conversion
efficiencies are low, relatively large amounts of
land are required. Additional limitations result
because the technology required is very generic
in nature. No existing industry is actively
promoting the technology.

Conclusion
Electricity itself is not a fuel. It is merely a high
quality medium for transporting energy from
one place to another. Any heat source can be
used to produce electricity. Burning fossil fuels,
producing nuclear reactions, utilizing the heat of
the earth, and many other methods can be
harnessed to generate electricity.
As discussed in this chapter, the sun can
produce electricity as well. In some cases it
can produce electricity at competitive prices. As
further refinements to the various technologies
are made, the price will be reduced still further.

47
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Department of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Contact: Ana Gomez
717-787-1323
Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A.
McGinty unveiled a new 2.8-kilowatt solar power
system on the south roof of the Governor’s
Residence on Front Street in Harrisburg on March
30, 2005. The 16-panel photovoltaic system powers
the site with clean electricity and ensures continuity
of government services by providing at least
22 hours of backup power to critical infrastructure in
the event of a blackout.
“This first-of-its-kind project highlights the
importance of investing in renewable energy
Picture courtesy of PA DEP
technology as a tool to ensure a reliable energy
supply if the power grid ever goes down,” Secretary that the Governor has chosen to use sunlight to
McGinty said. “The project also showcases power his residence. We hope this will encourage
Pennsylvania’s national leadership on energy more Pennsylvanians to explore this extremely
issues. Diversifying our energy resources is a key versatile, clean and renewable energy option.”
piece of ensuring against economic and security
The solar panel installation was completed as part of
vulnerabilities.”
the March 14, 2001, multi-site remediation
Installation of renewable energy systems provides agreement (MSA) between DEP and BP Amoco,
another dimension to ensure that police and fire now BP Products North America Inc. The MSA
stations, hospitals and emergency centers, and established consistent standards for cleanups at
government buildings can offer consistent and various BP sites statewide and accelerated the
reliable services during blackouts. These innovative closeout of BP storage tanks throughout the
systems also provide another source of Commonwealth.
environmentally beneficial electricity. The solar
In addition, as part of the MSA, BP can ensure
system at the Governor’s Residence will generate
continued environmental improvements by donating
electricity continuously during normal daytime
funds for joint DEP- and BP-approved projects. In
operations, offsetting electric utility supply to the
2004, funding was set aside for two solar projects on
residence.
state-owned buildings --- the first at the Governor’s
MESA Environmental Sciences Inc. was in charge of Residence and the second at DEP’s Southeast
installing the solar system. The project was funded Regional Office.
by a $20,000 grant from The Reinvestment Fund
Pennsylvania is now home to one of the nation’s
(TRF), which manages the Sustainable
most progressive two-tiered energy portfolio
Development Fund (SDF) created by the state
standards, ensuring that in 15 years, 18 percent of
Public Utility Commission to promote renewable
all of the energy generated in the Commonwealth
resources, clean technologies and energy
comes from clean, efficient sources. At least
conservation. The grant came from the fund’s Solar
0.5 percent of Tier I electricity must come from solar
Photovoltaic Grant Program. BP Products North
photovoltaic cells --- a requirement that is at least
America Inc. contributed another $19,250 for the
three times more ambitious than anything any
project.
neighboring states have put in place.
“SDF’s goal is to build a renewable energy future for
all of us in Pennsylvania,” SDF Technology and
Policy Manager Roger Clark said. “We are pleased

48
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical
Welsh and McKean Roads Solar Consultants:
Spring House, PA 19477 PowerLight, Inc.
Contact: Robert Barnes, Site Manager East Coast Office
215-628-4052 P.O. Box 354
Crosswicks, NJ 08515
www.powerlight.com
Contact: Thomas Leyden, Vice President
609-291-7490
tleyden@powerlight.com

Commercial facilities account for around 15

percent of the electricity used in Pennsylvania.
A large portion of that energy comes from coal,
natural gas, and nuclear power. Ortho-McNeil
Pharmaceutical, in Spring House, PA, is trying
to change the face of commercial energy use.
As a member of the Johnson & Johnson family
of companies, Ortho-McNeil is part of a growing
trend toward renewable energy use outside the
residential sector. In fact, Johnson & Johnson
was an original participant in the EPA’s Green
Power Partnership Program. At their Spring Picture Courtesy of PowerLight, Inc.
House facility, Ortho-McNeil decided to take
advantage of 17,500 square feet of the interlocking system. They are also mounted on
building’s roof. They installed 1,750 flat insulated boards that protect the roof from heat
photovoltaic (PV) panels, manufactured by and UV degradation. The R-20 thermal
PowerLight Solar Electric Systems. Each panel insulation value even helps to reduce heating
generates up to 43 watts, for a total system and cooling requirements in the building below.
capacity of 75 kilowatts. Their system utilizes a
Installed in 2002, Ortho-McNeil’s Spring House
custom-made inverter to feed power to the
solar energy system is the largest solar array in
building, but does not use a battery. Instead,
the state of Pennsylvania. It received the
the system is tied to the grid.
Governor’s award for Environmental Excellence
One of the main advantages of using solar in 2003.
energy in a commercial application is that peak
solar production hours coincide with peak
demand hours. Electricity use is high in the
middle of the day when everyone is at work.
This is also when the most sun is available. At
Ortho-McNeil, the PV system provides
1.4 percent of the total demand during peak
hours.
Another benefit of covering the roof surface with
these specific panels is the protection they
provide. The Power Light panels are building
integrated photovoltaic (BIPV). Their modular
design enables them to fit together in an

49
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Levin Furniture
124 Levin Way Solar Design/Contractor:
Monroeville, PA 15146 Solar Power Industries, Inc.
(412) 372-6880 13 Airport Road
www.levinfurniture.com Belle Vernon, PA 15012
Contact: Robert Levin www.solarpowerindustries.com
724-872-2050 Dick Rosey
rlevin@levinfurniture.com (724) 379-2001
rrosey@solarpowerindustries.com

Robert Levin has always had a strong personal

interest in the environment. As president of Levin
Furniture, he has applied that interest to his
business. Levin believes that business has a
responsibility to invest in the environment as an act
of stewardship. To that end, Levin Furniture has
installed a photovoltaic system on the roof of their
newest store in Monroeville, PA.
When building new stores, Levin Furniture has
always tried to use environmentally friendly
practices. Many of their buildings utilize daylight in
order to cut down on energy use from lighting
fixtures. Also, much of their landscaping is done
with native plants so that irrigation is not necessary.
Yet, when planning began for the newest building in
Monroeville, these efforts did not seem to be
enough. The project team began looking into Picture courtesy of Solar Power Industries
renewable energy sources, and soon found that
Levin has not done calculations on the cost savings.
solar energy was a practical solution.
He reiterates that this is not why he installed the
Their grid-tied system was designed and installed by system, just as he does not drive a hybrid car in
Solar Power Industries, another local Pennsylvania order to save money on gas. He sees
business, who also manufactured the panels. The environmental responsibility as a way to give back to
10 kilowatt roof array was just installed in 2005, and the earth a small part of what he has been given
has generated a lot of interest. Customers cannot from it. The process of building new stores is
see the panels from the store entrance, so Levin has especially symbolic of this lopsided relationship.
put up an in-store display explaining the technology During development, trees are cut down in order to
and the benefits of solar energy. He hopes to add to clear the way for concrete and steel, and grass is
the display, so that customers can learn more about replaced with asphalt. Levin wants to change this
renewable energy, and ways that they can help the relationship and create more of a balance. Although
environment. he knows that installing a photovoltaic system is not
going to achieve that balance, he sees it as a step in
Levin estimates that his store-top solar system
the right direction.
probably contributes 10 percent of the building’s
energy needs. Most of that electricity is used at Levin Furniture is very happy with the positive
night, when lighting is especially important for the response that their new photovoltaic system is
furniture showroom. So, energy efficient lighting receiving from customers. In the future, they hope
fixtures are also employed wherever possible. to install similar systems on other stores. For now,
their focus is on improving the educational display at
the entrance of the Monroeville store.

50
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Solar Power Industries, Inc.
13 Airport Road
Belle Vernon, PA 15012
www.solarpowerindustries.com
Contact: Dick Rosey
(724)-379-2001
rrosey@solarpowerindustries.com

Solar Power Industries manufactures solar cells

in Western Pennsylvania. With the coal
industry in decline, and many manufacturing
jobs shifting overseas, Solar Power is rapidly
growing and exporting to a worldwide market.
They see renewable resources as the future of
Pennsylvania’s legacy as an energy-producing
state. The Energy Coordinating Agency, a
Philadelphia-based nonprofit corporation,
agrees. According to their report, “The Value of
Solar Energy to Pennsylvania”, renewable
resources, such as wind and photovoltaic (PV),
offer 40 percent more jobs per dollar than coal.
Pennsylvania has those resources, and Solar
Power Industries is helping to put them to work.
Though the privately held company was Picture courtesy of Solar Power Industries
founded in 2003, they have many years of Europe and Asia. With that in mind, Solar
experience in the solar industry. Originally a Power expects to increase their production
Research and Development program as part of capacity to at least double the current size in
Westinghouse Electric, the company split off the next year. In fact, the company is growing
and teamed up with Ebara Corporation to form so quickly that they have not yet had time to
Ebara Solar in 1993. They continued to install a PV system on their own building.
develop solar technologies and built a brand Marketing and Sales Director Dick Rosey hopes
new manufacturing facility just south of to accomplish this sometime in the near future,
Pittsburgh. In 2002 the company shifted again, but for now, he sees it as a good sign. He
and the Pennsylvania operation became what is would much rather be manufacturing solar
today, Solar Power Industries. products for his customers.
Solar Power manufactures a variety of
products, including finished and custom solar
modules. Some of their products can be seen
in the Home Depot as components of the
Hampton Bay solar landscaping lights. They
also install complete custom solar systems. A
recent project was the installation of a 10
kilowatt system on the roof of the Levin
Furniture building in Monroeville, PA.
The majority of their business, however, is the
production of solar cells that are exported to

51
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Villanova University
College of Engineering
Tolentine Box 102
Villanova, PA 19085
Contact: William C. Koffke, P.E.
Assistant Professor Mechanical Engineering
215-645 7308

Villanova University has been designing,

building, and racing solar-powered vehicles for
over 15 years. The University’s Team SolarCat
began competing in 1990 at the very first GM
Sunrayce. Since then the team has won a
number of races, set a few records and, most
notably, achieved first place in the 1992
American Tour de Sol.
Villanova University was one of 32 colleges
accepted to participate in the General Motors
SunRayce from Florida to Michigan in 1990.
Picture Courtesy of Villanova University
This prompted the University to begin solar
vehicle research.
More recently, students completed an
Armed with the lessons learned during the GM
electric/solar hybrid commuter car that they
SunRayce, a proposal was submitted to the
hope to enter in the Tour de Sol.
Pennsylvania Energy Office to design, build,
and test a light-weight, low-power, solar electric Concerns about energy supply, production, and
vehicle. The original vehicle was rebuilt and national security, plus increasing awareness of
entered in the Tour de Sol from Albany, New the environmental impacts of our energy use
York, to Plymouth, Massachusetts. The team have reawakened interest in low-emission,
finished second. alternative energy vehicle technology. Electric
vehicles, especially solar electric vehicles, offer
Yet, the team’s goals are not limited to
the promise of cleaner air by decreasing vehicle
competition. Student projects have ranged
emissions.
from the design of a solar commuter car, to
hybrid conversions. The solar-powered
commuter car is designed to be driven back
and forth to work using solar energy as its
primary energy source. The solar panels are
used to recharge the vehicles batteries while
parked at work. On cloudy days and overnight,
the vehicle can be plugged in just like any other
electric car. A solar electric vehicle offers the
added bonus of a further reduction in emissions
from fossil-fueled power plants.

52
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Sign Lighting
Camelback Ski Area Simpler Solar Systems
3118 West Tharpe Street
Adams Outdoor Advertising Tallahassee, Florida 32303
US Route 209 850-576-5271
RR 5 Box 5197 www.simplersolar.com
East Stroudsburg, PA 18301
Contact: Steve Bickford
570-424-2329
www.adamsoutdoor.com

On Route 209 near the Route 33 split in

Snydersville, Pennsylvania, is a billboard for
Camelback Ski Area. It looks like any other
ordinary billboard, except for the photovoltaic
panels on the top. These panels provide the
electricity to operate the lights on the billboard
at night.
In 1994, Camelback faced a problem. While
the roadside billboard, owned by Adams
Outdoor, was in an excellent location for their
advertisement, it could not be seen at night.
The sign sits at a major intersection and points
visitors in the direction of the mountain. Since
Camelback is a popular wintertime destination,
many of their visitors arrive at night. Therefore,
being able to see the sign after dark is
important. The billboard, though, was far from
any existing electric lines, and the adjacent
property owners were not willing to allow the Picture Courtesy of Todd A Reed
installation of a new line running across their According to Operations Manager Steve
property. Bickford, the system is working well. He was
The answer was photovoltaics. Adams Outdoor originally skeptical about the use of solar panels
contacted Simpler Solar Systems, who supplied for this purpose, but has been impressed by
panels, batteries and a control box that were how reliable they have been over the past 10
suitable for use with a billboard lighting system. years. In fact, the only time Steve ever had a
Three, two-foot-by-four-foot arrays provide problem with the system was when the
enough power to charge four batteries, which batteries and control box were stolen. They
operate the lights. The photovoltaic panels were replaced in 2000 and have not been taken
trickle charge the bank of batteries during the since.
day, and the batteries run the lights at night.

53
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Solar Assisted Traffic Control Signs
Protection Services, Inc.
635 Lucknow Road
Harrisburg, PA 17110
Contact: Doug Miceli
(717) 236-9307
www.protectionservices.com

A cost-effective application for photovoltaic cells

can be seen on highways and roads all over the
state. The cells are being used to power lighted
road signs from directional arrows to message
boards to school crossing lights. Any traffic
control sign with a light can be powered by the
sun. The use of energy-efficient LED (light
emitting diode) lighting systems and the
reduced cost of solar cells have enabled solar
signs to compete with conventional signs.
The solar cells do not power the lights directly.
They are used to trickle-charge batteries, which
light the lamps in the sign. In a battery-only
powered flashing arrow sign, for example, three
batteries last about 30 days. With solar cells
charging the batteries, the sign can last from 60 Picture courtesy of Doug Miceli
to over 120 days depending upon the time of
year. assisted arrow board over the same six month
period amounted to $700, a $2,600 savings!
Solar-powered signs have numerous
advantages over conventional diesel or Solar-assisted arrow boards are more
gasoline-powered signs. Liquid fuel signs must expensive than conventional signs. However,
be refilled with fuel every few days. Solar- the $1,900 price difference paid for the solar
assisted signs only need their batteries signs will pay back in less than six months
recharged every few months. Liquid fuel sign because of the lower operating costs.
engines require periodic maintenance. Solar
assisted signs need the solar panel cleaned
every few months. If a liquid-fuel engine
breakdown occurs, the sign could be out of
commission. A solar assisted sign can be run
on a car battery if necessary. There are no
moving parts to wear out.
The biggest advantage, however, is economic.
Solar assisted signs are much less expensive
to operate. Consider arrow boards, for
example. Taking into account diesel engine
fuel use, service, labor, and bulb changes the
maintenance costs are over $3,300 every six
months. The maintenance cost for a solar

54
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
286 Industrial Park Road, Ebensburg, PA PV Contractor: FIRST, Inc.
Contact: Tammy Ford-Hannah Contact: Lyle Rawlings
814-472-1904 609-466-4495

Contractor: Miller Bros. Construction, Inc. Energy/Green Power Consultant:

Contact: James L. Miller Energy Opportunities, Inc.
570-385-1662 Contact: Marcus Sheffer
717-292-2636

When the Department of Environmental Protection Zomeworks Track Racks. The Track Racks rotate as
began plans for their Cambria district office, it was the sun moves, keeping the PV modules oriented
important that they set high standards with the new directly towards the sun throughout the day.
building. Of course they wanted to minimize the Through a power purchase brokering agreement
impact the building project would have on the with Green Mountain Energy, the DEP Cambria
surrounding environment. However, for the DEP it building has been able to offset 28% of its energy
was equally important that they create a productive use. They sell the environmental attributes they
and healthy workspace for their employees. In order produce to Green Mountain at a premium and then
to achieve these seemingly disparate goals, the purchase green power for the building’s electric
DEP design team used an integrated process that needs.
took into account all aspects of the building’s life
cycle. Through this process, solar energy emerged
as an important component. The finished building
takes advantage of solar daylighting, heating, and
electricity to create a comfortable and productive
work environment.
A variety of daylighting strategies were applied in
order to achieve the goals set by the DEP. One
strategy was to take advantage of north-south solar
exposures by orienting the building on an east-west
axis. The design team used innovative lightshelves,
clerestories, integral roof overhangs and photocell-
activated solar shades to maximize effective
daylighting in the interior of the building. These
features allow natural light to be reflected deep into Pictures courtesy of National Renewable Energy
interior spaces. At the same time, they diffuse direct Laboratory – Photographer Robb Williamson
sunlight, which can cause sun glare and increased
The building’s performance is continually tracked
interior temperatures. Dimming fixtures were
and evaluated through the U.S. Department of
installed on interior fixtures to allow customized
Energy’s High Performance Commercial Building
lighting levels and ambient lighting. Together, these
Program. A monitoring system tracks the energy
components create a space that has superior
produced. It also collects weather and solar
lighting with decreased cooling and energy loads.
radiation data. The final report, Analysis of the
In addition to the daylighting, other solar strategies Design and Energy Performance of the
were employed in order to minimize environmental Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
impact. A 14 kW photovoltaic array, mounted on the Protection Cambria Office Building, is available
south-facing roof, contributes electricity to the online at the following link:
building. It consists of 400 BP Solarex Millenia
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy05osti/34931.pdf
modules, a Trace Technologies 15 kW inverter and
an isolation transformer. A second, smaller 0.8 kW This report contains a detailed analysis of the
PV array flanks the building’s main entrance and performance of the PV system and many other
consists of 23 BP Solarex Millenia modules and an building systems.
Advanced Energy 1 kW inverter mounted on two

55
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Jolico Farm
Arthur K. and Maxine Cook
134 Jolico Road
Somerset, PA 15501
814-445-4520
maxcook@shol.com

Arthur and Maxine Cook, two city kids from

Pittsburgh, bought a 70-acre farm in rural Somerset
County, Pennsylvania, in 1971, and embarked upon
an alternative energy lifestyle. A major snowstorm
on December 1, 1974, resulted in a five-day power
outage. No heat, no lights and no water for their
livestock convinced them they would never again be
totally dependent on power lines.
They began experimenting with wind and solar
power in 1978 and have been expanding and
modifying their system ever since. Their present
system evolved from a stand-alone battery charging
system to their current state-of-the-art cogeneration
system utilizing net metering from Penelec, their
local utility. Pictures courtesy of Jolico Farm
Their hybrid system combines wind and sun power.
This is necessary to protect linemen who may be
The wind system is a Northern Power Systems HR2
working on downed lines. Emergency backup power
wind generator with a 16-foot diameter, three-blade
is provided by a Multicorp 7-kilowatt, water-cooled,
rotor atop a 60-foot-tall Rohn self-supporting tower,
continuous-duty diesel generator that can run 15
generating up to 5 kilowatts in a 27 mile per hour
hours on six gallons of fuel.
wind. At present, the power generated by this
windmill is used to preheat water for domestic use. The 3,500-square-foot farmhouse is heated with a
Water is pumped from a 174-foot well by an 8-foot hydronic cast iron baseboard radiator system with
diameter Aeromotor water pumping windmill, 10 zones. Each room has its own thermostat so the
situated on a hill at a 50-foot elevation. The water Cooks can heat only the rooms that are occupied.
from the well is fed into two 1000-gallon buried The space heating system is provided by two boilers
storage tanks that gravity feed the water to the in series. The primary system is a Tarm wood-
farmhouse and barns. These two windmills have burning boiler made in Denmark, specifically
been in continuous operation since 1980. designed to burn wood at 80 percent efficiency while
producing only 1 gram of soot per hour. That is
The photovoltaic system consists of a total of 4500
equal to the smoke of one cigarette. It is considered
watts, of which 3 kilowatts are Kyocera KC63 panels
the cleanest and most efficient wood-burning
on three Array Technology active elevation/azimuth
furnace in the world. Backup heat is provided by a
trackers, which follow the sun across the sky. These
conventional oil-fired boiler.
trackers increase output up to 50 percent. The
remaining 1500 watts are BP panels on fixed The remodeled 1860’s farmhouse contains highly
brackets set at 53 degrees. The panels are wired in efficient appliances, such as a high-energy Staber
series/parallel to 390 volts DC, and fed into two SMA clothes washer, a 16-cubic-foot Sunfrost refrigerator
Sunny Boy 2500-watt synchronous, grid-tied freezer, which requires only 18 kwh of electricity per
inverters running at 96 percent efficiency. Whatever month to operate, and compact fluorescent bulbs in
power they don’t use is sent back into the grid, all light fixtures. An electric clothes dryer, whole-
spinning their meter backwards. Utility power is house air conditioning, electric dishwasher and
used whenever needed, spinning the meter forward. microwave oven are luxuries that the Cooks can
The system has safety features that automatically enjoy because of their solar-generating capability.
shut down if there is a problem in the utility grid. Their production varies from 550 to 850 KWH of
electricity each month and peak usage year round is

56
about equal to production. Supplemental electricity
is purchased from the local windfarms and their bills
run between $10.00 and $18.00 per month.
The Cooks are busy professionals. Maxine manages
a large orthopedic surgery practice and Arthur is the
District Justice of District Court 16-3-03 in Somerset,
PA. They figure they have probably spent about
$60,000 on their alternate energy systems over the
past 25 years and feel that their efforts have set a
good example of “treading lightly upon the earth.”

4 Solar Thermal Panels – 55 sq. ft.

40 Kyocera
1.5 kW., 120 VDC Utility
K63 PV Modules Open Generator Power
16 Amperes
at 160 VDC

Northern Power
HP3 Wind Generator Pump
3.5 kW at 120 VDC

30A. Fused 140 gallon

Disconnect Domestic
How Water 30A Fused Automatic
30A. Fused Disconnect
Tank Switch
Disconnect
Regulator Two 4kW
Heating
Elements
Regulator
A-h. Meter 1.3 kW.
Battery
Automatic Charger
KWh Meter Switch

120 VDC Buss

Amperes Voltage

60A Fused
Disconnect 120 VOC DPDT
Michigan Energy Works Switch
Fuse &
33 AW Inverter
Distribution
120 VOC to 120 VAC
Box

120 VOC
Fuse &
Distribution
Forty Supreme lead-acid Batteries Box
400 Ampere-hours at 120 VOC Alt.
120 VDC
Loads

Alt.
120 VDC
Loads

Home Power Magazine

57
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
IKEA
Green Mountain Solar at Pittsburgh Sun Power Electric
2001 Park Manor Blvd. 40 Washington Street
Robinson Town Centre Westborough, MA 01581
Pittsburgh, PA 15205 800-689-7957
www.ikea.com www.sunpower.org
Contact: Jim Anastos
A commercial building that uses solar energy to
reduce dependence on non-renewable energy
sources is good. A commercial building that uses
their solar energy system as a tool to educate the
public and make their customers more aware of
our environmental impact is even better. IKEA’s
Pittsburgh store is just that.
IKEA has a history of being a socially responsible
company. So when Pittsburgh store manager Jim
Anastos was visiting stores in Europe he was not
surprised to find windmills churning out electricity
right next door. Jim began to wonder why there
were no similar systems set up in the United
States. He started looking into the possibility of
using wind energy at his store.
With some advice from Green Mountain Energy
and Sun Power Electric, Jim decided that solar
energy was a better fit for his Pittsburgh store.
The building already had the perfect site for solar
panels, a large rooftop section that is visible from
the in-store café. In addition, the Western
Pennsylvania location was better suited for
collecting solar energy.
The solar array was completed in 2001, and is
currently the largest solar installation in Western
Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by Sun
Power Electric, a division of Conservation
Services Group and the nation’s first all
photovoltaic utility. The 30 kW system is made up
of 175 panels, split between two levels on the
building’s rooftop. It is currently producing about
36,500 kWh of electricity a year. IKEA provides
their roof as a rent-free location for the solar
energy collection system. IKEA also purchases
all of the energy produced at that location.
One of the most interesting pieces of this
installation is the educational billboard set up in
the Pittsburgh store lobby. The billboard uses an
LED counter to display the amount of carbon
58
Solar Consultants:
Conservation Services Group
40 Washington Street
Westborough, MA 01581
508-836-9500
www.csgrp.com
Contact: Dan Porrazzo
Pictures Courtesy of Dan Porrazzo
dioxide emissions that have been avoided by the
use of solar energy produced at that location. For
Jim Anastos, the ability to share the significance
of this project with his customers is important. In
fact, for Jim, and others involved, it was this
educational aspect that really fueled the project all
along. The panels were purposely installed in a
noticeable location so that visitors would be able
to make a visual connection between the
technology on the roof and the counter in the
lobby.
The success of this solar installation has sparked
interest in similar arrangements for future IKEA
stores. John Zurcher, environmental and social
affairs manager of IKEA US, feels that solar
energy fits well with the IKEA culture. All IKEA
stores recycle. Throughout the US, each IKEA
store has also has an environmental coordinator
who promotes efficient energy and water use.
Wherever possible, stores are already purchasing
renewable energy. For Zurcher, renewable
energy is just another way that IKEA is trying to
do the right thing.
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
BJ’s Wholesale Club
300 Alan Wood Rd.
Plymouth Meeting, PA
508-651-6581
www.bjs.com
Contact: Terry Civic
tcivic@bjs.com
Sun Power Electric
40 Washington Street
Westborough, MA 01581
800-689-7957
www.sunpower.org
Solar Consultants:
Conservation Services Group
40 Washington Street
Westborough, MA 01581
508-836-9500
www.csgrp.com
Contact: Dan Porrazzo

One of the largest solar generation facilities in

Pennsylvania can be found on the roof of BJ’s
Wholesale Club in Plymouth Meeting. BJ’s, Sun
Power Electric, Conservation Services Group, and
Green Mountain Energy all teamed in up to create
this solar power plant. The project was the
second in what soon became an ongoing
relationship among the four partners. Over the six
years they worked together to install a total of
nine solar generation facilities on BJ’s rooftops in
Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Rhode
Island, Massachusetts, and Ohio.
BJ’s first became interested in solar energy
generation in 1998 when their Energy Manager Picture courtesy of Ron Celentano
attended a conference on electricity deregulation.
He met Stephen Cowell, CEO of Conservation This complex system has a number of benefits.
Services Group, and they started talking about BJ’s receives energy at a slightly lower price than
new opportunities for clean fuel sources. The what they would pay through the regular utility
idea to use the space on the roof of BJ’s buildings company. However, the larger benefit for BJ’s is
came up. Based on that idea, the two started that they are promoting the use of clean energy
planning what eventually became the first Sun and decreasing carbon dioxide emissions. Over
Power Electric generation facility on top of BJ’s the course of its lifetime, the Plymouth Meeting
Wholesale Club in Dartmouth, MA. solar facility is expected to displace an amount of
energy that would have otherwise created nearly
In 1999, plans for a second facility, in 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide.
Conshohocken, began. The system was finished
in April, 1999, and has been generating an Sun Power Electric keeps up to date information
average of 65,000 kWh of energy every year on energy production at each of their solar power
since. The 60 kW system is composed of 1400 plants, including BJ’s in Plymouth Meeting. Their
solar panels manufactured by Solarex, Inc. It was website shows graphs of the most recent energy
installed and is maintained by a team from availability and production data. In all, Sun Power
Conservation Services Group. Their expertise in Electric’s solar power plants on top of BJ’s
the field allows them to install systems quickly and Wholesale Club stores will create nearly 250,000
at minimal cost. The energy that is produced is kWh of clean electricity annually.
managed by Sun Power Electric, a division of
CSG that was the first all-photovoltaic utility in the
United States. BJ’s buys all of the power
generated at their location through CSG.

59
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
PennFuture
Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future
610 N. Third Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 214-7920
info@pennfuture.org

PennFuture is an environmental non-profit

whose mission is to “create a just future where
nature, communities and the economy thrive.”
They have been working to make Pennsylvania
a better place to live and work through
enforcement of environmental laws and efforts
to change public policy and opinion. They have
also taken on a major project to promote the
use of “clean energy.”
PennFuture’s Harrisburg office is located right
across the street from a major policy and
lawmaking institution, the State Capitol
Building. So when they bought the office in
2002 it was obvious to all involved that they
needed to take advantage of that opportunity Pictures Courtesy of Jan Jarrett and PennFuture
and do something that would make a
While all of PennFuture’s offices had been
statement. The statement they chose to make
purchasing renewable energy even before the
was one about renewable energy. They Harrisburg installation, the photovoltaic system
decided to install a photovoltaic system on the
now allows them to contribute renewable
roof of their building. The rooftop solar plant
energy to the grid as well. This displaces the
serves as a great example of clean energy at
amount of energy that must be created using
work. It also serves as a reminder to all those
non-renewable resources.
law and policy makers going in and out of the
State Capitol building. The photovoltaic system is certainly the most
visible environmental technology in the office,
The 3.84 kilowatt solar system is made up of 32
but it is not alone. PennFuture also employs
AstroPower panels split into two arrays of
efficient lighting fixtures. In addition, they use a
16 panels each. It was installed in April of 2003
pace controller in conjunction with their electric
by TRC Alternative Energy Group. It is heat pump heating and cooling system. This
expected to generate 3,500 kWh of electricity a
controller optimizes the run time of the
year. Two SunnyBoy inverters convert the DC
compressors, reducing unnecessary energy
electricity that is being produced into AC
consumption without adversely affecting
electricity that the two offices below can use.
performance. This unique technology is
Any energy that is not used is sold back to the
expected to reduce electricity use for heating by
utility company through the electric grid.
20 percent.

60
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Rowlands Residence
760 Chambers Rock Road Contractor:
Landenberg, PA 19350 CMI Electric Inc.
Contact: Reid Rowlands 38 Albe Drive, Suite 2
302-737-7741 Newark, DE 19702
reid@marketeastplaza.com Contact: Dale Davies
302-834-8170
www.cmielectric.com
Reid Rowlands brought a lot of experience to
the table when he started building a new house
in Landenberg, PA, in 2001. After all, he does
work in construction. There was one feature,
though, that he had never had a chance to
install -- solar electric panels. His new house
provided an opportunity to finally use solar
electricity. So as the construction drew to an
end, Reid did some research on photovoltaics
and decided on a system for his new house.
Reid had been considering solar electricity for a
while, but knew that in order for the system to
pay for itself it would have to be in operation for
many years. Reid also knew that he and his
family would be living in the house for a long Picture courtesy of Ron Celentano
time, and that over the years the cost of energy providing more energy than was being used.
saved using the photovoltaic system would That energy was sold to the Energy
eventually come close to the cost of installing it Cooperative, who buys all of the electricity that
in the first place. Still, paying for the PV system the Rowlands’ system generates. As Reid and
up front would not be a money saving venture. his family move into the house, he is expecting
Reid summed up his decision to use PV the solar panels to produce between five and
anyway as an effort to, “in some degree try to 10 percent of their daily energy needs. The rest
save the world.” With that in mind, solar energy will be purchased from the Energy Cooperative.
seemed an obvious choice.
Reid is happy that he can do something for the
This focus on the environment became even environment through his support of renewable
more evident as Reid explained his additional energy. Although most of the buildings he
plans to install a solar hot water system, and all works on are commercial facilities, Reid now
of the effort he had put into finding energy- has a few clients asking questions about his PV
efficient appliances. His air conditioning unit, system. He hopes to create more interest in
with a SEER rating of 19, was another large the technology and to eventually install solar
investment that was made with energy systems on his clients’ commercial buildings as
conservation as the prime motivation. well.
The 5 kilowatt photovoltaic system on the
Rowlands’ house was manufactured by
AstroPower, and installed in 2003 by CMI
Electric. Reid received some help in paying for
the panels through funding provided by PECO
and the Million Solar Roofs Initiative. As
construction finished, the grid-tied system was

61
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Norris Square
Norris Square Civic Association
149 Susquehanna Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19122
215-426-8723
Contact: Henri Marcial
Designer: Contractor:
Finley Shapiro Consulting Energy Coordinating Agency
2021 Rodman Street 1924 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146 Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-545-4364 215-988-0929
www.finleyshapiro.com www.ecasavesenergy.org
Contact: Finley Shapiro Contact: Dennis Winters

Energy costs are of particular concern for low-

income households. The percentage of annual
income spent on heating and electricity is
typically much higher for low-income families
than it is for other households. This is partially
because up-front costs for efficient appliances,
insulation, and other energy saving strategies
tend to be prohibitively expensive. With this in
mind, PECO (Philadelphia Electric Company)
and the Sustainable Development Fund have
teamed up to create affordable housing with
affordable energy. Picture Courtesy of Finley Shapiro

In Norris Square, a neighborhood at the heart of
North Philadelphia, there are a group of eight
affordable rental units. They are a project of
the Norris Square Civic Association. The
townhouses were built in 1992, but have
recently undergone an update. There are now
four new solar panels on the roof of each home.
The panels are the result of efforts by the Norris
Square Civic Association to incorporate solar
electricity as a way of cutting down on
household energy costs. Each system has a
capacity of 1.2kW. On average, this will provide
a quarter of the energy used in each home
where the solar systems are installed. Any
energy that is not used will be sold back to
PECO through the utility grid.
The Civic Association is excited about this
opportunity. With the cost of electricity
becoming a large part of the expense of living,
they see it as another way that the non-profit
organization can help members of their
community. The Norris Square Civic
Association was founded in 1982 as a
community-based development corporation. In
addition to their housing programs, the Civic
Association provides educational programs,
child and family services, and recreational
opportunities.
Funding for the new photovoltaic systems was
provided by grants from PECO Energy and the
Sustainable Development Fund. System
design was done by Finley Shapiro Consulting.
Installation was carried out by the Energy
Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia, who has
also provided energy services to 30,000 low-
income households in 2003. The Norris Square
solar arrays were installed in July 2004 and are
part of a growing trend towards using solar
energy to provide affordable energy to
households that will most benefit from it.

62
 DAYLIGHTING

Numerous technologies have been introduced

and implemented over the last decade to make
artificial lighting more energy efficient. However,
one of the most over-looked strategies to
reduce energy costs is the most obvious.
Natural lighting can be used to achieve up to 50
percent of the lighting requirements in a
building.
About 20 percent of the electrical consumption
in this country is used for lighting. The vast
majority of this usage is in the commercial
sector and it is utilized during the highest peak T Reed
periods of electrical consumption. Daylighting Figure 33
can not only reduce the energy consumption
Orientation is the first consideration when using
and demand in buildings, it can help electric
daylighting. The sun has risen in the east and
utilities maintain a more even load profile.
set in the west since the beginning of time.
Electricity produced by utilities during peak use
Therefore, a building should have it’s long axis
periods is usually the most expensive electricity
running east/west with the maximum amount of
produced. The use of daylighting strategies can
windows on the north and south facades. This
significantly reduce the consumption during
orientation takes maximum use of the sun’s
peak periods of usage.
path through the southern sky. The east and
The use of daylighting not only reduces energy west side of a building has to deal with low sun
costs but also improves the quality of light in a angles and direct light issues of the rising and
space. People are creatures of light, to be setting sun.
disconnected from the natural environment is
Certain activities in a building will require more
unhealthy both physically and mentally. The
daylighting than others. Placement of the
reduction of the amount of electric light needed
activities in the building should correspond to
also reduces the heat given off by electric
the buildings orientation. A space such as an
lights, which in turn reduces the need for
office should be placed on the south side to
cooling to offset the heat loads.
take advantage of the daylight. Spaces such as
The sun gives us free heat and light. The light storage or restrooms can be placed in the core
from the sun is either direct or indirect. On a or along façades where there are no windows,
clear day, the brightest part of the sky is along such as the east or west facades.
the horizon and directly from the sun. On an
The size and placement of windows is affected
overcast day, the brightest part of the sky is at
by the structure of a building. As a general rule
the zenith which is directly overhead. Figure 33
of thumb, the distance that daylight will
shows these sky conditions.
penetrate a space is one-and-a-half times the
Consideration of what type of climate you live height of the window as diagrammed in Figure
in, either mostly sunny or mostly cloudy, 34. Placing the windows as high as possible to
determines what strategies should be used to the ceiling not only allows maximum glazing
implement daylighting. area but also takes advantage of the ceiling as
a light reflector. A window to floor ratio of 20
percent is a good beginning point for the
amount of glazing needed for a space.

63
 Figure 36 shows an example of how a light
shelf works. Use of light shelves can improve
the quality of light in the space by reducing the
amount of glare at the window, which provides
a visually better space for the occupants.

T Reed
Figure 34

New and energy-efficient glazings have

contributed to the effectiveness of daylighting
systems. Well designed skylights, windows,
clerestories, and atria will reduce annual energy
use. The new glazings contain low-e coatings
that allow maximum daylight into the space but
reflects the majority of solar heat. These
coatings also reduce the amount of heat lost
through the windows by reflecting interior heat T Reed
back into the room. These windows perform Figure 36
well but are not as thermally efficient as a well-
Another technique with daylighting is the use of
insulated wall or roof.
glass-topped interior partitions. These types of
Direct light is good and bad. It can cause our walls allow light that enters the exterior and
buildings to heat up and cause large amounts perimeter spaces to extend into hallways and
of glare inside the space. Blinds and curtains interior areas. Usually the top one to two feet of
are an economical means to help control the the walls are glass, which maintains the privacy
direct light component, but they do not increase of the occupant and still lets the light enter.
the depth in which daylight penetrates the (See Figure 37)
space. One technique is the use of light
shelves. Light shelves can be exterior, interior,
or both. A general rule of thumb with light
shelves is that the depth that light penetrates
the space is twice the height of the window with
the use of a light shelf. Figure 35 shows this.
What light shelves can do is block any
unwanted direct solar components, but at the T Reed
same time reflect light deeper into the space. Figure 37

Other means of bringing natural light into the

interior of buildings is through the use of
clerestories and atria. South-facing clerestories
may need to have interior baffles to handle any
direct light components from reaching interior
walls and work surfaces. (Figure 38) A
clerestory should have a window-to-floor-area
ratio of about 7 percent. Clerestories and atria
also can provide the means for cross ventilation
T Reed of a space when the space has only one
Figure 35 exterior wall.

64
 The use of daylighting not only reduces energy
but also improves the quality of light in a space
by reducing electrical lighting and implementing
more natural light. Proper integration of
daylight and electric light is necessary to ensure
a quality space. An integrated system is the
best means to provide energy savings.
The following Pennsylvania projects represent a
very small part of the use of daylighting
strategies in buildings. Each of these projects
demonstrate that daylighting works, even in
Pennsylvania.
Figure 38

A technology that is being applied in houses is

the use of a small round skylight attached to a
highly reflective light duct that reflects the light
down through the attic to the ceiling of the room
below. (Figure 39) These can be readily
retrofitted to an existing home to convey
daylight into the interior rooms.

Figure 39

Further refinements in these daylighting

technologies mentioned above have the
potential to eliminate a significant portion of the
artificial lighting used in commercial facilities.
Conclusion
Daylighting strategies can reduce energy
consumption when properly implemented by
reducing the demand of electric lighting.
Thorough analysis of site and climate is
necessary to determine which daylighting
strategies should be used.

65
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
1000 Fort Duquesne Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
412-565-6000
Architects:
Rafael Viñoly Architects, P.C.
50 Vandam Street
New York, NY 10013
212-924-5060
www.rvapc.com
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is home to more certified
green buildings than any other city in the United
States. This focus on environmental building has
played a large role in the city’s transformation from
an industrial economy to an innovation economy.
So it is only fitting that Pittsburgh’s newest green
building is also the largest certified green building in
the world, the David L. Lawrence Convention
Center.
Planning for the 1.5 million-square-foot convention
center began with an international design
competition held by the Southwest Pennsylvania
Convention Center Design Commission. The
Commission made sure that green design was an
important part of the process from the very
beginning, and included it as part of the
competition’s judging criteria. The winning design
beautifully integrated environmentally responsible
design with the functional requirements of an urban
public space. Innovative technology, computer
modeling, and a holistic design approach all played
major roles in achieving this goal. Yet, one of the
simplest and most effective strategies was to
maximize the building’s use of daylight.
The finished convention center utilizes clerestory
windows to open up the space and maximize natural
lighting where the roof and walls meet. The roof is
scored with 6-foot-wide ribbon skylights running the
entire length. In fact, 10 percent of the roof surface
is made up of skylights. The main exhibition hall can
be lit entirely using natural light from the roof
skylights and windows. Seventy-five percent of the
rest of the convention center is lit the same way.
Architects and engineers paid special attention to
the layout of the building in order to maximize this
effect. Computer models were used to minimize
glare, hot spots, and shadowy spaces.
Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates
650 Smithfield Street
Suite 2600
Pittsburgh PA 15222
412-394-7000
www.burthill.com
Pictures courtesy of the David L. Lawrence
Convention Center
Use of open spaces, windows, and skylights also
helps to increase natural ventilation. Air flow is a
natural, energy-efficient way to cool any building.
The sweeping form of the roof of the convention
center helps to pull air through the building and up to
vents at the peak, where it exits. The combination of
natural lighting and natural ventilation in the
convention center is expected to save 35% of the
energy used in a typical building of its size.
The David L. Lawrence Convention Center design is
not just about improving the outdoor environment.
Many of the strategies also contribute to a much
improved indoor environment. The constant supply
of fresh air and sunlight create a productive, healthy
space to work or visit. The large open spaces that
allow daylight to penetrate into the center of the hall
also allow unobstructed views for occupants.
Additional efforts were made to use nontoxic
materials that would not emit chemicals into the air,
and a carbon dioxide monitoring system keeps track
of air quality. Other environmental features include
light sensors, a gray water system that reduces
potable water use by half, reflective roofing materials
to cut down on heat island effects, and indigenous
landscaping.
66
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Clearview Elementary School, Hanover School District
100 Clearview Road, Hanover, PA Green Consultants: 7group,
Contact: Josephine Bookwalter, Principal LLC Contact: Marcus Sheffer
717-637-9000 717-292-2636
Architect: L. Robert Kimball & Associates
Contact: John Boecker
717-221-0770

The advantages of solar daylighting extend far

beyond energy saving benefits. Day lighting
provides superior lighting environments for
working and learning. In fact, recent studies
performed by the California Board for Energy
Efficiency showed that students learning in
classrooms that are well daylit achieved test
scores that were 15 percent to 26 percent higher
than those students learning in classrooms
lacking natural light.
To maximize the benefits of daylighting, the
Clearview team set out to design a school where
natural light would flow into all of the classrooms
Copyright Jim Schafer
and educational areas. They began by orienting www.jimschaferphotography.com
the school on an east-west axis to maximize the
amount of natural light entering through windows Extensive daylight modeling of the building was
on the north and south faces. A long, narrow used to inform the development of the design and
structure also makes it easier for light to penetrate optimize the daylighting performance.
into the center of the building. The use of south-
facing clerestory windows brings ample light into
the second-floor classrooms and balances the
light from north-facing windows. In addition, white
reflective roof decking and light-colored classroom
walls help to evenly distribute the daylight. With
the increased level of daylight, occupancy
sensors and the use of light-level sensors, the
school is able to use about one-third less
electricity for lighting.
Direct, summer sunlight is blocked by horizontal
sunshades, a sunscreen wall, and reverse-baffle Graph courtesy of Energy Opportunities
solar shading devices. Light shelves are used to Clearview Elementary is an excellent example of
allow only cooler, indirect light into the building. how passive solar strategies can reduce energy
These features diminish the amount of hot, direct consumption while improving the interior learning
sunlight entering during the summer, therefore environment. This building also provides a
reducing the amount of energy that is needed to fantastic opportunity for students and teachers to
cool the building. During the winter, when the sun study high-performance design. In fact the
is lower in the sky, the clerestory windows allow sunscreen wall has a built-in sundial to encourage
warm, direct sunlight to enter, reducing the students to learn about solar energy and the sun.
amount of energy needed to heat the building, as
well.

67
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Robert L. Preger Intelligent Workplace
Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics
415 Margaret Morrison Hall
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh PA 15213
Contact: Stephen Lee, AIA
412-268-2350
http://www.arc.cmu.edu/cbpd
In 1988 Carnegie Mellon’s Center for Building
Performance and Diagnostics (CBPD) created a
partnership with members of industry and government
to create the Advanced Building Systems Integration
Consortium (ABSIC). The focus of this partnership was
to advance research of building technology and system
integration concepts in order to improve building
performance. The Robert L. Preger Intelligent
Workplace, built in 1997, is a result of this collaboration
between educators, students, industry, and
government. The goals of the Workplace are to
provide user comfort and satisfaction, while working to
improve organizational flexibility, technological
adaptability, and environmental sustainability.
Anyone involved with the Intelligent Workplace, will
refer to it as a “living” and “lived in” laboratory. It is
“living” because each element was designed to be fully
reconfigurable. The layout of the furniture, walls,
HVAC, lighting, and wiring are all extremely flexible to
allow for experimentation. Even the components
themselves are modular in design and can be switched
for different pieces, or entirely new systems. The
Workplace is “lived in” by faculty, staff, graduates
students who work at CBPD and, in effect, act as test
subjects.
When designing the space itself, the architects and
engineers paid close attention to the number and
location of windows. Extensive computer modeling
allowed them to optimize window location and
orientation. As part of the “living” experiment, the
Workplace uses two different types of glass in their
windows. The first, PPG’s Azuria, is tinted blue. The
blue absorbs much of the solar infrared, or heat
component, of sunlight while allowing visible light to
pass through. This means that the benefits of natural
daylight are maximized, while unwanted heat is kept
out. The second glass, made by Viracon, is a double-
paned, insulating glass with a low-e coating on both
sides. This combination of coating and insulation
accomplishes a similar effect. Light is let in, but heat is
kept out. It also helps to keep heat in during the winter,
lowering energy use and heating costs.
68
Architects:
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
307 Fourth Avenue
Suite 1300
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
412-765-3890
www.bcj.com
Pierre Zoelly and Associates
Pierre Zoelly, AIA
http://www.arc.cmu.edu/cbpd
With all of the sunlight shining into the Workplace, it is
no surprise that the space also benefits from passive
solar heat. To take advantage of cooling effects during
the summer as well as heating ability in the winter, the
center has installed an inventive set of shading louvers.
The reflective louvers are mounted outside the
windows and rotate based on the position of the sun.
During the summer, they reflect sunlight away form the
windows, keeping occupants cool. During the winter,
they turn to let the warm light in, creating a passive
heating effect. However, since a majority of the center
is built with steel, there is not much thermal mass to
store heat. The Center is investigating ways to solve
this problem.
Another way that the Workplace is experimenting with
windows and sunlight is by integrating PV systems
within the shell of the building itself. While this idea is
still in the experimental stage, the finished product
would be a system of photovoltaic panels laminated
within the windows. Installing PV within the window
accomplishes two goals at the same time. The panels
simultaneously provide shade and generate electricity.
The Robert L. Preger Intelligent Workplace has
received numerous awards including the American
Institute of Steel Construction’s 2001 I.D.E.A.S. Merit
Award, a Business Week/Architectural Record Award,
an AIA Honor Award for Architecture and Design, and
the 1996 Three Rivers Environmental Award in the
Higher Education category.
 SOLAR POTENTIAL
The amount of solar energy striking
Pennsylvania each year is 140 times greater
than all of the electrical and fossil fuel energy
consumed in the state annually. Even if the
conversion efficiency of sunlight to energy is
only 5 percent, solar energy could still supply
seven times more energy than is consumed.
In the United States, solar energy represents
the vast majority of our potential energy
resources. Figure 40 depicts the total
accessible domestic energy resources including
reserves. Obviously, solar energy has the
potential to provide a significant portion of our
energy supply.
Figure 40
The question is, how much of our energy supply
could reasonably and economically be supplied
by solar energy? Numerous studies have
attempted to estimate the future contribution to
our energy supplies that solar could provide.
The estimates vary a great deal depending
upon the assumptions made concerning policy,
fuel prices, fuel supply, technological progress,
and many other factors.
In 2004, Pennsylvania legislators passed the
Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS).
The AEPS requires that 18 percent of the
electricity sold in Pennsylvania must come from
renewable and advanced energy sources within
15 years. The bill sets up two categories of
energy sources required to be used by all
69
power companies selling electricity in
Pennsylvania:
- Eight percent must come from Tier I energy
sources, including wind, solar and biomass,
- Ten percent must come from Tier II energy
sources, including energy saved from new
energy efficiency measures and coal waste.
The common wisdom from the late 1970s and
early 1980s was that conventional energy
prices would continue rising in the future. As
those prices increased, it logically followed that
the use of solar energy would also increase.
However, energy prices fell in the mid 1980s
and solar use decreased. As you can see,
guessing our energy future is difficult at best.
Perhaps the question should not center on how
much energy can solar supply in the future. No
one disputes that solar energy has the potential
to supply more energy than it now does. The
question is, in what direction is our energy
future headed?
A significant portion of future energy supplies
could be provided by energy efficiency and
renewable energy sources, like solar. Current
energy policies, however, continue our reliance
on fossil and nuclear fuels. A change in
direction will require a shift in these policies.
Solar energy cannot become our primary
energy source overnight. However, the right
incentives could help to overcome the barriers
to the increased use of solar energy.
Developing the Right Incentives
A more environmentally benign, more
sustainable future is possible, and solar energy
can play a significant part in that future. There
are at least five critical areas that must be
explored to provide the incentives that will lead
to more widespread use of solar energy.
Level the Playing Field
Present-day energy suppliers benefit from
billions of dollars in subsidies. It is estimated
that over $50 billion dollars per year is spent by
the federal government in directly subsidizing
the costs associated with fossil and nuclear
fuels. These subsidies take the form of tax
breaks, research and development,
environmental cleanup, health costs, and
military expenditures to ensure energy supplies.
These costs do not show up in the price we pay
for energy, but we pay for them just the same.
If these hidden costs, often referred to as
“externalities,” were included in the price we
pay for energy, then solar energy would be in a
far better position to compete with conventional
fuels. While no one disputes that these costs
exist, quantifying them is more difficult. How
does one place a value on clean air, for
example?
Governments and institutions have been
attempting to add up some of the easier to
quantify external costs. Using very conservative
assumptions, it has been estimated that the
price of oil would exceed $100 per barrel if
these external costs were included. At this
price, solar energy is a bargain.
Another way to include these costs in the price
we pay is to tax energy sources that contribute
to these societal costs. Gasoline, carbon,
emissions, and other energy taxes have been
discussed as a way to pay for the external costs
associated with conventional fuels.
By recognizing these costs, governments and
institutions can help provide a level playing field
for solar. But even if the playing field were level,
even if real free market forces were present to
give solar energy a fair chance, our problems
would not be solved.
Review Policy Initiatives
Energy use affects almost every aspect of our
society. Promoting solar energy use as a policy
will require the commitment of policymakers
from the President of the United States to the
local zoning board. Numerous policies and
regulations in many areas could be undertaken
to provide incentives for solar energy. The
Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard in
Pennsylvania is an example of what can be
done.
Establishing national goals to reduce
greenhouse gases while meeting energy needs
economically and with minimal environmental
damage will spur solar energy use. Federal
70
regulations relating to the Clean Air Act,
housing loan programs, environmental
protection, tax credits, utilities, international
development, federal facilities, research and
development, and transportation could all be
modified to promote greater use of solar
energy. Renewable energy research and
development funds, for example, were reduced
by about 75 percent in the 1980s. Restoring this
funding level would go a long way toward
stabilizing the solar industry.
On the state and local levels, increased solar
energy use could be encouraged in housing,
transportation, land-use planning, building
codes, utility regulation, and many other areas.
Current utility regulation encourages the
centralized production of electricity using
conventional fuels. More of the resources
devoted to energy production by utilities could
be diverted to solar energy. Utility regulations
have been modified in other states to
encourage independent power production and
some states even add an estimated
“environmental” cost on conventional fuels in
bidding systems. Regulatory changes are also
needed on the demand side to encourage
energy efficiency and renewable energy use.
Overcome Inertia
Generations of builders, architects, engineers,
and other professionals have been schooled in
the status quo. Change occurs slowly and new
technologies must often prove their worth over
a long transition period before they are widely
instituted as common practice.
Additionally, our present energy supply
structure includes billions of dollars in sunk
costs for present day technologies. The oil,
coal, gas, and nuclear industries have
substantial investments (and millions of
investors) in technologies that can’t be
abandoned overnight, even if they are not
sustainable over the long haul. For solar
energy use to expand, it will be necessary to
have an ongoing dialogue with the investors in
present day energy systems and with those in
government who can support and implement
the needed changes to initiate the transition to
sustainable energy.
Increase Public Education
Obviously, the general public will need solid,
unbiased information on the benefits, as well as
the costs, of solar energy delivered in a routine
and consistent manner. Equally important is
information on what works. How to build a mass
wall, where to buy solar-powered lights, which
solar water heaters perform best, and many
other technical questions will have to be
addressed.
In addition to the general public, the next
generation of builders, architects, engineers,
utility staff, and other professionals will need to
be trained on the new technologies.
Policymakers will also need to be educated on
the benefits to society of utilizing solar
technologies.
Achieve Economies of Scale
The current industrial capabilities of the solar
industry could not possibly provide a major
share of our energy use in the near term. For
example, the total world capacity for
photovoltaic energy in 2005, 800 megawatts,
was less than the power output of a single
electric generating plant.
As the industrial capability of the solar industry
increases, the cost to deliver solar energy will
decrease. The more photovoltaic panels and
solar water heaters that are produced, the lower
the per unit cost of these technologies. The
more widespread the use of solar energy, the
lower the initial cost and the more attractive
solar becomes as an investment.
Solar technologies are not commonly used in
many applications for the reasons explained
above. While many solar technologies are cost
effective today, continued improvements in their
cost effectiveness will lead to increased usage.
Future Solar Technologies
As the projects in this manual have
demonstrated, solar energy in Pennsylvania
works. In addition to the technologies presented
in this manual, solar energy can and is being
used for water purification and cooking in many
parts of the world.
71
In the future we are likely to realize significant
improvements in existing solar energy
technologies, as well as the emergence of other
solar technologies.
Photovoltaics have dramatically improved in
both efficiency and cost over the past 40 years.
New materials and manufacturing techniques
will continue to lower cost and increase
efficiency. Gallium compounds, liquid cells,
silicon bead cells, indium phosphide cells, and
concentrators all hold the promise of increasing
cell efficiency or lowering the manufacturing
cost.
One of the more promising technologies for the
future involves using solar energy to produce
hydrogen. Hydrogen is the ultimate in clean
burning fuels. When hydrogen is burned in an
engine or used to produce electricity, the
resulting emission is water vapor as the
hydrogen combines with atmospheric oxygen.
The use of hydrogen as a fuel would not
contribute to air pollution like the fossil fuels we
burn today.
Hydrogen can be produced in several ways.
The majority of the hydrogen in use today is
produced by stripping the carbon molecule from
natural gas. The problem with this method is
that it requires more energy to produce the
hydrogen than the hydrogen contains. But
hydrogen can also be produced from water.
In the future, solar-generated electricity from
photovoltaics, solar thermal, wind, and hydro
systems could be used to electrolyze water
(separate the hydrogen from the oxygen).
Large hydrogen generating plants could be
established in the sunnier regions of the country
and the hydrogen could be piped through the
existing natural gas pipeline system with some
modifications.
Hydrogen can be burned directly in an engine
or a boiler to produce motion or heat. It can
also be used in a device called a fuel cell. In a
fuel cell, hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen
react chemically to produce direct current
electricity and water vapor. Fuel cells, which
produce electricity very efficiently, could be
used for running electric cars, powering homes,
or as part of the central power plant electrical
distribution system.
However, a hydrogen-based energy system is
still several decades into the future. While most
of us could not afford to buy a fuel cell, many of
us could more fully utilize the solar technologies
that exist today. These sustainable
technologies will improve in the future, but there
are many good reasons to use solar energy
today.
Why Go Solar?
If you have read this far, chances are that you
have more than a casual interest in solar
energy. So now what? Should you go solar?
Yes. Here are some reasons why.
• Do it for our common future.
We have a rapidly growing global population
and a rapidly depleting resource base.
Efficiency and conservation of fossil fuels won’t
solve the problem forever. The use of
renewable, and more environmentally-benign
energy sources need to be developed. At
present, solar-derived energy is the only
sustainable resource that can be utilized.
• Do it to be a leader.
It takes some vision and imagination and a
willingness to depart from the ordinary if you
are going to use more solar energy in your
home. Some have to lead so that many others
will follow. On a national scale, it is important to
remain at the forefront of promising new
technologies like solar. Today, we lead the
world in solar technology. Whether or not the
United States implements policies to promote
the use of solar energy, other countries will.
• Do it as a declaration of independence.
As we grow more and more dependent on
foreign supplies of energy, we become more
vulnerable to a supply disruption. We also
become vulnerable to energy cartel price
manipulations that keep the costs of these
resources just low enough to discourage a
switch to alternatives. Sovereign nations
cannot afford to be in that position forever.
72
• Do it for our children.
It is the children who will be paying most of the
environmental cleanup costs associated with
our 20th century energy habits. It is they who
will inherit a planet with far fewer depletable
energy resources than it has today. Our
children’s children have as much of a right as
we do to the resources of the planet.
• Do it for long-term economic and
energy security.
The solar energy industry is very labor
intensive. Studies have shown that investments
in energy efficiency and solar technologies
created twice as many jobs as those in
traditional energy industries. The past 20 years
have also demonstrated just how volatile and
uncertain energy prices can be. There is little
likelihood that they will be lower 20 years from
now. The best investments are those made for
the long run.
• Do it because solar works, even in
Pennsylvania.
While the elimination of federal tax credits was
lamented at the time, it actually helped to weed
out the companies that were giving solar energy
a bad name. Over the past 15 years, solar
energy industries have matured. The products
available on the market today have proven
themselves over time to be reliable and
effective.
Conclusion
Wider implementation of solar technologies will
require changes in many aspects of society.
Arguments for change are going to have to be
more than environmental. We will have to
make the case for economic benefit, for
national security, for technological readiness
and reliability, and, most importantly, for social
utility.
We already know that solar houses are reliable
and affordable. We have to find ways to make
solar cars and solar factories just as reliable
and affordable. And we have to think about
ways of bringing about the transition to a
sustainable society. We also have to go beyond
the environment vs. economy dialogue
characteristic of past environmental debates.
They can both benefit from increased use of
sustainable energy technologies. That means
we involve our entire society in the quest for
sustainability. Not just the ecologists, not just
the traditional energy producers, but the
bankers and the business leaders and the cities
and the farms and the rich and the poor and
those in the middle ... everybody needs a place
at the table if we are to have any realistic
chance of success.
In the mean time, we have to put solar in every
niche where it can possibly fit. That includes
passive solar buildings, solar hot water, solar
bioshelter greenhouses, solar swimming pools,
solar remote site power, solar small appliances.
And most of all, we need the visionaries, the
risk takers, the every day innovators among us,
to lead by example. The solar pioneers
represented by all of the Pennsylvania Solar
Projects contained in this manual are among
those visionaries. They are to be commended
for their commitment.
The two projects that follow this chapter are
excellent examples of a holistic approach to
building techniques and technologies that will
help bring about the transition to a more
sustainable future. They are living proof that
solar energy works, even in Pennsylvania.
Sometimes solar is more expensive and less
convenient than the energy source it displaces.
Those who buy solar now in spite of its
limitations help us all to reexamine our values
and to recognize that cost and convenience are
of secondary concern when the investment is
really in our future and that of our children.

73
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
The ALTER Project
Slippery Rock University Architect:
Slippery Rock, PA 16057 Robert J. Kobet
Contact: Dale Stewart 412-661-5410
724-738-2593 rkobet@sustainaissance.net
dale.stewart@sru.edu Clivus Multrum
Bio-Sun Systems
1-800-847-8840
ALTER, Alternative Living Technology and
Energy Resources, is a community-based
organization at Slippery Rock University that
promotes sustainable living through education
and research. The focus of the organization is
the Robert A. Macoskey Center for Sustainable
Systems Education and Research, familiarly
known as the Harmony Homestead, which was
constructed with funding provided by the
Pennsylvania Energy Office and Slippery Rock
University.
The Homestead provides a classroom
extension for hands-on opportunities for
graduate students in the Master of Science in
Sustainable Systems program. It is designed to
demonstrate sustainable systems in a
residential setting including permaculture food
and fiber production, architectural design, water
conservation, nontoxic building materials,
energy efficiency, and renewable energy
sources.
The building was originally an old farmhouse
that was gutted and reconstructed. During the
construction special care was taken to help
ensure good indoor air quality. Energy efficient
construction techniques were used to provide
high levels of insulation and low levels of air
infiltration.
A significant portion of the building’s electricity
is provided by a 28-panel Solarex photovoltaic
array. The array is rated at 1.5 kilowatts
alternating current (AC) output. The direct
current (DC) produced by the array is fed
through an inverter, which converts it to the AC
power used in a typical home.
74
Contractors:
Photovoltaic System
Springhouse Energy Systems
724-225 8685
Pictures Courtesy of Slippery Rock University
The photovoltaic system is a utility
interconnected system. When the sun rises it
begins to produce electricity. When the sun
sets, the system turns itself off. If the system is
producing more electricity than the house is
using, it will return that portion of the electricity
back to the utility company’s grid. If the house is
using more electricity than it is producing, the
differential amount will be purchased from the
utility company automatically. In effect, the
utility connection acts as the system back up
instead of battery storage.
All plumbing fixtures were installed with water
conservation in mind, including low-flow
aerators and showerheads. A Clivus Multrum
waterless toilet was also installed. The Clivus
is a self-contained, odorless waste treatment
system for all organic wastes generated
including grass clippings, laundry lint and paper
towels. It uses no chemicals or heat, has no
pollution discharge and the end result is a
fertile, organic compost that is safe to handle
and easily removed for use on the garden. It
can save more than 40,000 gallons of water per
year in the average home and can cost far less
than conventional treatment systems.
An attached 520-square-foot greenhouse
provides an indoor growing space and
contributes heat to the building in the winter. A
gray water treatment system was originally
installed in 1994 and was recently replaced by
a “Living Machine.” The new system has been
designed for flexible adaptation to future
experimentation, ease of use and maintenance,
and flexibility in cell orientation. All aerators
and pumps in the system run on energy from
PV panels. Gray water is now being treated
through a Constructed Wetland, which was
installed as one of 17 prototypes throughout
Pennsylvania to provide on-site gray water
treatment.
The 83 acres of property surrounding the house
are under observation by Slippery Rock
University ecological and environmental groups
because of the restorative projects that are
naturally occurring there. Old fields are
returning to old-growth forests in parts, while
other parts are being repaired from damage
done by various campus and community
construction projects.
The Homestead fosters research conducted by
graduate students in the Master of Science in
Sustainable Systems program. It also provides
an environment in which experimentation and
proven process can be used for community-
wide education. The program is the first of its
kind in the United States.

75
 Pennsylvania Solar Project
Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania
Beechwood Farms Architect:
614 Dorseyville Road The Design Alliance Architects
Pittsburgh, PA 15238 5 PPG Place
Contact: Jim Bonner, Executive Director Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 963 6100 Contact: Jules Labarthe, A.I.A.
(412) 261 0660

Beechwood Farms serves as a nature reserve

and education center. The original farmhouse
and barn were supplemented in 1990 with the
addition of an educational wing. The building
has incorporated several energy and
environmental features.
A photovoltaic (PV) system generates energy
for use in the building, annually providing about
11 percent of the electricity. This system was
the first privately funded utility-connected
system in the state. When it was first installed,
it provided nearly 15 percent of the large
building’s daily electricity needs. That number
has fallen recently due to increased demand.
Pictures courtesy of The Design Alliance
However, the existing system has worked so
well over the past 14 years that plans are
The primary heating system is a 98 percent
underway to either upgrade the systems or add
efficient gas furnace. The heat distribution
additional PV panels.
system is separated into five zones, ensuring
The building also conserves energy by taking that only the parts of the building that are in use
advantage of available lighting. Clerestory are heated. An air-to-air heat exchanger
windows provide natural light to all primary provides fresh air to the building while
spaces. This daylight is adequate for most uses recovering about 75 percent of the heat
and is supplemented by efficient fluorescent exhausted to the outside.
fixture placement.
Additional energy saving features include gas-
Other solar features of the building include filled, welded windows, well- insulated walls,
south-facing glass for direct solar gain and a ceilings, floors, air lock entrances, and a trellis
cupola designed for heating in winter and for reducing air conditioning loads. A system for
cooling in summer. In the winter, warm return water conservation centers around a Clivus
air from the cupola and interior spaces is drawn Multrum composting toilet. The Farm also
through concrete block walls to the furnace. maintains a monitoring system for measuring
This makes the interior block walls effective wind, solar, and other environmental conditions
storage elements. In the summer, the cupola pertaining to energy. Beechwood Farms is
acts as a chimney, allowing warm air to rise out open to the public.
the top. An exhaust fan supplements the natural
stack effect of the solar chimney. Solar fin tubes
in the cupola also preheat water before it enters
an instantaneous water heater.

76
 RESOURCES

For additional information on solar

energy, contact the following
organizations
National Organizations
Worldwatch Institute
Solar Energy Industries Association
1776 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
805 15th Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20036-1904
Suite 510
(202) 452-1999 (202) 296-7365 fax
Washington, DC 20005
Research, policy, publications, sustainable
(202) 682-0556 (202) 628-0559 fax development
Trade association, directories of solar industry,
www.worldwatch.org
publications, magazine
www.seia.org Union of Concerned Scientists
2 Brattle Square
Sustainable Buildings Industry Council Cambridge, MA 02238-9105
1112 16th Street N.W. (617) 864-5552 (617) 864-9405 fax
Suite 240 Policy,publications,campaign for renewables
Washington, DC 20036 www.ucsusa.org
(202) 628-7400 (202) 393-5043 fax
Trade Association, training, publications Solar Cookers International
www.psic.org 1919 21st Street #101
Sacramento, CA 95814
American Solar Energy Society, Inc. (916) 455-4499 (916) 455-4498 fax
2400 Central Avenue Information, international promotion
Suite A www.solarcookers.org
Boulder, CO 80301
(303) 443-3130 (303) 443-3212 fax Public Citizen Critical Mass Energy Program
Conferences, publications, magazine 215 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E.
www.ases.org Washington, DC 20003
(202) 546-4996
Solar Rating and Certification Corporation Sustainable energy, publications, policy
c/o FSEC www.citizen.org/cmep
1679 Clearlake Road
Cocoa, FL 32922-5703 World Resources Institute
(321) 638-1537 (321) 638-1010 fax 10 G Street Suite 800
Laboratory rating of solar components and Washington, DC 20002
systems (202) 729-7600 (202) 729-7610 fax
www.solar-rating.org Publications, research, policy
www.wri.org
Solar Energy Research and Education
Foundation (USA) American Hydrogen Association
4707 Elmhirst Lane 1739 W 7th Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20184-3954 Mesa, AZ 85202-1906
(480) 827-7915
(301) 530-5343 (301) 530-8644 fax
Publications, products information, policy www.clean-air.org

77
Interstate Renewable Council Solar Components Corporation
P.O. Box 1156 121 Valley Street
Latham, NY 12110-1156 Manchester, NH 03103
(518) 458-6059 (603) 668-8187 (603) 668-1783 fax
Solar products
Links to state incentives
www.irecusa.org www.solar-components.com

Backwoods Solar Electric Systems

Other Organizations 1589 Rapid Lighting Creek Road
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association Sandpoint, ID 83864
50 Miles Street (208) 263-4290 (208) 265-4788 fax
Greenfield, MA 01301 Solar products
(413) 774-6051 www.backwoodssolar.com
Conferences, information, magazine
www.nesea.org Solar Power Industries, Inc.
13 Airport Road
Florida Solar Energy Center Belle Vernon, PA 15012
1679 Clearlake Road (724) 374-6500
Cocoa, FL 32922 Solar energy Products
(321) 638-1000 (321) 638-1010 fax www.solarpowerindustries.com
Research, information
www.fsec.ucf.edu The Stella Group, Ltd.
1616 H Street NW 10th FL
Real Goods Washington, D.C. 2006-4999
360 Interlocken Blvd. Suite 300 (202) 347-2214 (202) 347-2215 fax
Broomfield, CO 80021-3440 Solar Energy Products
(800) 762-7325 www.thestellagroupltd.com
Solar energy products catalog
www.realgoods.com Sunelco
2086 U.S. Highway 93 North
Photocomm Victor, MT 59875
7681 Gray Road, Dept 16G 1-888 Sunelco (406) 642-9768 fax
Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Solar energy products catalog
(800) 223-9580, ext. G www.sunelco.com
Solar energy products catalog
Federal Government
Kyocera Solar Inc.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
7812 East Acoma
1617 Cole Boulevard
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Golden, CO 80401-3393
(480) 948-8003 (480) 483-6431 fax
(303) 275-3000
Solar energy products
Solar research and information
www.kyocerasolar.com www.nrel.gov

Alternative Energy Engineering Conservation and Renewable Energy Inquiry

PO Box 339 & Referral Service (CAREIRS)
Redway, CA 95560 P.O. Box 8900
(707) 923-2277 (707) 923-3009 fax Silver Spring, MD 20907
Solar energy products catalog (800) 523-2929
www.alt-energy.com

78
Sandia National Laboratories State Government
National Solar Thermal Test Facility
Mail Stop 1127 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Albuquerque, NM 87185 Protection
(505) 844-1806 (505) 845-3366 fax Office of Energy & Technology Deployment
Solar research and information 16th Floor Rachel Carson State Office Bldg.
www.sandia.gov/Renewable_Energy/renewable P.O. Box 2063
.htm Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063
(717) 783-0541 (717) 783-0546 fax
National Center for Appropriate Technology Grants, research, information
(NCAT) http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/energy/cwp/vi
PO Box 3838 ew.asp?a=3&q=482723
Butte, MT 59702
(800) ASK NCAT Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
www.ncat.org 400 North Street
Keystone Bldg
U.S. Department of Energy Harrisburg, PA 17120
1000 Independence Avenue S.W. (717) 783-1740
Washington, D.C 20585 Issues affecting the electric and gas utilities
1-800 Dial DOE (202) 586-4403 fax www.puc.state.pa.us
www.energy.gov

U.S. Department of Energy PA DEP Regional Offices

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Northcentral Regional Office
Solar Energy Technologies Program 208 West Third Street
www.eere.energy.gov/solar/csp.html
Suite 101
Williamsport, PA 17701-6448
Renewable Energy Policy Project
1612 K. Street N.W. (570) 327-0537 (570) 327-0537 fax
Suite 202 Bradford, Cameron, Clearfield, Centre,
Washington, DC 20006 Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour,
(202) 293-2898 (202) 293-5857 fax Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan,
Information, policies, discussion groups Tioga, and Union.
www.repp.org
Northeast Regional Office
Million Solar Roofs (National) 2 Public Square
U.S. Department of Energy Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711-0790
National initiative to promote the sales and (570) 826-2475 (570) 830-3051 fax
use of solar products. Carbon, Lackawana, Lehigh, Luzerne,
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_americ Monroe, Northampton, Pike, Schuylkill,
a/pdfs/40483.pdf Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming.
Energy Star Program
US EPA
Northwest Regional Office
Climate Protection Partnerships Division 230 Chestnut Street
& Distribution (MS-6202J) Meadville, PA 16335-3481
1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW (814) 332-6125 (814) 332-6125 fax
Washington, D.C. 20460 Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest,
(888) STAR-YES Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer,
Information, federal incentives Venango, and Warren.
www.energystar.gov

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Southcentral Regional Office
904 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA 17110-8200
(717) 705-4797 (717)705-4760 fax
Adams, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Cumberland,
Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon,
Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry,
and York.
Southeast Regional Office
2 East Main Street
Norristown, PA 19401
(484) 250-5816 (484) 250-5943 fax
Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and
Philadelphia.
Southwest Regional Office
400 Water Front Drive
Pittsburgh, Pa 15222-4745
(412) 442-4137 (412) 442-4194 fax
Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Cambria,
Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Somerset,
Washington, and Westmoreland.
Million Solar Roofs (Pennsylvania)
List of personnel and products for information
about PA’s Million Solar Roofs Partners.
http://www.pasolar.org/
The following are five organizations promoting
and funding the use of sustainable energy
products and businesses. These programs
were created by the Pennsylvania Public Utility
Commission.
Sustainable Energy Funds of Central
Pennsylvania
Sovereign Building 609 Hamilton Mall
Allentown, PA 18101-21111
(610) 740-3182 (610) 740-9511 fax
www.sustainableenergyfund.org
West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund,
Inc.
Mr. Joel L. Morrison
The Pennsylvania State University
The Energy Institute
WPPSEF Program Administrator
C-211 CUL
University Park, PA 16802-2323
(814) 865-4802 (814) 863-7432 fax
www.wppsef.org
Metropolitan Edison PA Electric Company
Sustainable Energy Funds
116 Market Street Suite 4
Johnstown, PA 15901
(814) 536-7741 (814) 536-5859 fax
www.cfalleghenies.org

Sustainable Development Fund

Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant 718 Arch Street
DEP Grants Center Suite 300 North
15th Floor, Rachel Carson State Office Bldg. Philadelphia, PA 19106
400 Market Street (215) 574-5800 (215) 574-5900
P.O. Box 8776 www.trfund.com/sdf/
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8776
(717) 705-5400 Metropolitan Edison Company Sustainable
State funded project that promotes and builds Energy Fund
markets for advanced and renewable energy 501 Washington Street Suite 801
resources. Reading, PA 19601
http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/energy/cwp/vi (610) 685-2223 (610) 685-2240 fax
ew.asp?a=1374&q=483024 www.bccf.org

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Tax Incentives
Interstate Renewable Council
P.O. Box 1156
Latham, NY 12110-1156
(518) 458-6059
Links to state incentives
www.irecusa.org

Database of State Incentives

For Renewable Energy
North Carolina Solar Center
Box 7401
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7401
(800) 33-NCSUN (919) 515-5778 fax
Federal and state incentives
www.dsireusa.org

The Tax Incentive Assistance Project

(TIAP)
Tax incentives
http://www.energytaxincentives.org/general/

Alliance To Save Energy

1200 18th Street NW Suite 900
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 857-0666 (202) 331-9588 fax
Tax incentives
www.ase.org

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