DALLAS—The team at Eco Smart Energy, LLC and Blackall Mechanical, Inc. worked together to produce an eco-friendly hot water system called Sun Equinox for the YMCA Town North in Dallas.
“We selected the Sun Equinox System based on the following criteria: equipment life longevity, reliability, its solar capabilities, and energy efficiency,” says John Blackall. “The system was a perfect solution for this application. There is no other hot water system on the market today that offers 97 percent efficiency with a 40-year life, and has the ability to handle hydronic heat, domestic hot water, and a pool loop with one system.”
This project utilized the Sun Equinox system’s “Eco Smart Energy” that will allow the YMCA to eliminate the need for an annual state boiler permit. It will also result in a reduction of their insurance premiums. This system will also reduce their water usage by 27 percent. Other benefits of this eco-friendly system are: 43 percent projected reduction in gas consumption; reduction in carbon footprint; reduced cost of ownership by 50 percent over 20 years (double the lifespan of a conventional boiler, reducing maintenance costs, and eliminating repair costs.)
“Our current steam boiler was 19 years old, and was not energy efficient,” said Joe Lanier, director of facilities, YMCA. “Instead of sinking a lot of money in a new unit, we decided to go with a more ‘green’ option that would be more cost efficient and solar seemed the way to go. Our gas consumption is down, and there is little maintenance. We went from 4.2 million BTUs to an average of 1.6 million BTUs with the new unit.”
“The system’s design consists of what Sun Equinox calls a 5-8-15 system,” Blackall says. “Five, three circuit heat exchangers Sani Cube Storage tanks, eight 93 percent efficient Noritz tankless heaters and 15 Apricus AP-30 Solar panels. The majority of all piping was pre-fabricated in the factory and shipped with the system for reassembly on the job site. The solar field is controlled by a DDC unitary controller integrated into the design of the system and pre-programmed at the factory making field installation that much easier. YMCA can be proud of the fact that they have invested the funds of their organization wisely into a solar hot water system that will operate trouble free for years and years to come, save the organization thousands of dollars in utility costs over the life of the equipment and thousands more in repair costs that are eliminated because of the simplicity of the system.”
E-mail jblackall@ecosmartenergytx.com for more information.
