Going Green in LI

By Bernadette Starzee

Using the sun to turn pools green

Long Island is home to about 110,000 in-ground swimming pools. Environmental activists, along with companies that provide solar pool-heating systems, see in pools a largely untapped opportunity for using the sun’s energy to reduce carbon emissions and residents’ heating costs.

Solar pool-heating systems reduce energy costs by $500 to $3,700 per year versus a traditional heater, depending on the pool size and type of heater being replaced, according to Sunshine Solar Technologies, a Jericho-based pool heating company.

According to President Kevin Wert, the average solar system costs about $5,500 to install vs. just under $5,000 for an average heat pump. However, Wert pointed out, home owners get their money back within one to two years in energy savings.

To install a solar heating system, Sunshine Solar Technologies uses an existing pool pump to circulate water to the solar collectors, which are usually mounted on the roof but can also be placed on a rack on the ground. The pool water enters the solar collectors from the bottom and, as it passes through tubes to the top, it is warmed by the sun. It is then fed back to the pool.

According to the company, a solar heating system will make a pool 10 to 20 degrees warmer than an unheated pool from May to September in the Northeast. “We have good solar exposure on Long Island,” Wert said. “We don’t have a tremendous amount of mature trees, like in Westchester and Connecticut.”

However, Wert acknowledged, solar heating systems have two major drawbacks. For starters, the sun is not a consistent heat source. “The system doesn’t work at night, when it’s raining or when there are thick storm clouds,” he said.

Second, the system cannot be installed on every property. “There has to be enough space,” Wert said. “And the property must have a southern, eastern or western exposure.”

GreenLogic Energy, based in Southampton, offers a different type of solar solution to heat pools. The company installs a small solar- electric system, which uses the sun’s energy to power an electric heat pump, eliminating carbon emissions and heating costs. The system, after tax credits and rebates, starts at about $5,000, which is in addition to an electric heat pump, said J.P. Clejan, a senior energy consultant in GreenLogic’s Roslyn Heights office.

“Unlike a solar heating system, this type of system offers precise temperature control regardless of the weather,” Clejan said. “The solar electric system produces electricity on a year-round basis, which is used as needed by the heat pump.”

According to Clejan, about a quarter of GreenLogic’s customers never had a pool heater before. “They didn’t want to pay the costs associated with heating a pool, or to harm the environment,” he said.

Islanders with more efficient cars

With gas hitting the $4-per-gallon mark, some Long Islanders are considering choosing a more energy-efficient car for their next automobile purchase. According to the recently released Long Island Index Survey, based on interviews conducted in February and March by the Stony Brook University Center for Survey Research, only 20 percent of Long Islanders drive either a compact car (16 percent), sports car (4 percent) or hybrid (0.5 percent). However, a third of those planning to buy a car and who know what they want say they will choose one of those three types, including 9 percent who expressed interest in purchasing a hybrid.

Political liberals, the most affluent and those with a college degree are the most likely to consider a hybrid, the survey said.

Green ideas from East End youth

Emil Norsic & Son, Inc., a Southampton sanitation company, recently invited students of the 13 East End high schools to come up with a story board for a public service announcement pertaining to an environmental issue. Together with co-sponsors Bridgehampton National Bank and Hamptons Jitney, Norsic awarded $5,000 to the contest winner, Joanna Tschurtschenthaler of East Hampton High School, $3,000 to second-place finisher Meghan Davis of Riverhead High School, and $1,000 each to Heather Rause of Riverhead and Justin Friedman of Southampton High School, who tied for third. The prize money was split evenly between the students and their schools.

“As a sanitation company, we face landfill and recycling issues every day,” said Russell Beal, who managed the project for Norsic. “We thought we would find out what the kids had to say on the topic.”

Bernadette Starzee can be reached at starzee@optonline.net.

Originally published by Bernadette Starzee.

(c) 2008 Long Island Business News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.