Solar Panels Heat Dorm’s Water
By LANITA WITHERS
GREENSBORO —- Kate Shimansky , a Guilford College sophomore , hasn’t noticed a difference in water temperature in her dorm’s showers.
But her college will see a difference in the electricity bill.
Guilford College has installed 12 solar panels on the roof of Shore Hall that will generate enough energy to heat all the building’s water. The panels will heat more than 650 gallons of water a day, enough to supply nine homes.
The system, which cost about $30,000 and was installed earlier this year, is expected to save the college over $86,000 during the life of the system. Shore Hall was chosen because the building’s east–west orientation is ideal to capture solar energy, said Jon Varnell , Guilford’s associate vice president of operations and facilities .
“The environmental savings is like taking 12 cars off the road,” Varnell said.
The system was dedicated Wednesday during an event to highlight Guilford’s ongoing sustainability efforts.
Varnell said the solar panels were the “crowning achievement” of the college’s efforts.
“It gave us a visible chance to get students excited,” he said. “It’s not just policies and boiler rooms and energy conservation. It gave us something we could highlight and get them talking about sustainability.”
In addition to the solar panels, waterless urinals have been installed in some rest rooms and the campus has bolstered its recycling program. Officials are also exploring the possibility of using geothermal energy to heat and cool Archdale Hall, a building that is scheduled for renovation soon, Varnell said.
Through the efforts of students, the college has created a Green Fund, an endowment where people can donate money to aid the school’s environmental efforts.
“Money is a huge thing,” said Carl Simon a Guilford senior who worked on the project. “You can have ideas for projects lined up but you have to have the money to support it.”
Some of the money will go to protecting the lake and woods on campus.
Contact Lanita Withers at 373–7071 or lwithers@news–record.com
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