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ORMAT PROVIDES SOLAR HEATERS FOR WORKERS
Ormat is a world leader in the geothermal power sector. The Company has more than four decades of experience in the development of state-of-the-art, environmentally sound power solutions, primary in geothermal and recovered energy generation.
Ormat provides accommodation for workers works in Olkaria at Or power village and as Ormat emphasizes the use of renewable and clean Energy they decided to install solar water heaters for their workers.
Or power village contain 50 houses of 1-3 bedroom, all will be installed with Chromagen solar water heaters.
Energood already started the installations and the tenants will be able to have hot water with cost saving and environmental friendly.
more and more organizations and institutes understand that solar water heating is not only cost saving , also help taking care of our environment for the long run.
FEW THINGS ABOUT SOLAR WATER HEATER INSTALLATION IN KENYA
in many of our solar water heaters installation we find that provision was not done properly, below are some information to help you understand better the operation, provision and limitation of solar water heaters.
when choosing solar water heater it is important to know basic differences between solar water heating systems:
1. the two common systems in world are flat plate collectors solar heaters and tube solar heaters, while the flat collectors are common in 80% of the world market tubes are common only in 15-17%.
a. tube systems designed for cold climatic areas and tend to crack, brake and loos efficiency in hot countries like Kenya. the tubes are very fragile and can brake easily while installation, service, debris or animals on the roof. flat plate collectors are very strong, durable and built for any weather.
b. all tube systems are indirect heating while flat plate systems comes in two version, indirect heating or direct heating. indirect heating designed for places where water can freeze in the collector or for bed quality of water (hard water) that can damage the collector. direct heating designed for places where there no risk of freezing and for soft water. there is no differences in the heating efficiency between the systems, the main different is in servicing. Indirect solar water heater require service every 6-12 month while a good direct system require service once in three years!
c. most installations of solar water heaters can be done thermosyphonically, when there is no need of circulation pumps. the solar water heater will be installed on the roof and the hot water will be transferred to the user by gravity. while in tube solar heaters the tubes connect directly to the solar tank and force the whole system to be installed on the roof affecting the look of the house. In flat collectors solar heaters, the collector and the tank are separate and the tank can be installed inside the attic while only the collectors outside allowing a more elegant installation.
2. when it comes to solar water heater installation, important to know:
a. all premises wish to use solar water heater need to have to different water lines, one for cold water and one for hot water.
b. all thermosyphon solar water heaters loos efficiency above 4 floors. for buildings above 4 floors it is recommended to install domestic centralize system that can ensure distributing the heat to all floors equally (as the attached link domestic centralized solar heating ) other option is using forced circulation line to ensure hot water will arrive to the user fast. on forced circulation line need to prepare to water lines from the solar system to the house, first line is a drop line to provide hot water from the solar water heater to the house and second line is a return line that brings the water back to the system. the return line need to be in smaller diameter than the drop line, in PPR or CPVC we recommend 20mm, for the return while 25-32mm can be used for the drop line. It important to use one drop line only from the solar heating system to אhe nearest hot water tap and than to connect all other hot water taps in line, the return line will come from the last hot water tap on the line, back to the solar water heating system. A circulation pump and controller will be installed for each house and wiring provision need to be done in advance. it is important to know solar water heater with circulation line consume more electricity as the circulation is cooling the water and the electrical heating element will work to compensate for losses of heat. still it will consume less electricity that a boiler.
c. PPR or CPVC piping is the most common in houses in Kenya, these pipes cannot withstand grate heat, it is recommended to install thermostatic mixing valve where circulation line is not used, to protect people from burns and protect piping from damages, for houses with circulation line the circulation will reduce water temperatures and the risk for the above is low
GREEN CITY PARK SOLAR HEATING PROJECT
green city park is a housing project in syokimau. the developers choose Chromagen as thy want only the best for their customers. the project is moving fast and some buildings already in final stages.
today our team of professionals raised 20 solar heaters to the top of two separate buildings, five floors each using our electrical ladder
this what i’m calling pro at work !
in total, 86 Chromagen 200 liter solar heaters will be installed in the project
MASHAV TRAINING FOR AFRICAN RENEWABLE ENERGY REGULATORS IN ISRAEL
during training done by Mash-av in Israel we had a greate opportunity and honor to introduce Chromagen’s solar water heating solutions to the African directors of renewable energy.
among the directors participating in the training we were happy to meet Mr Pavel Robert Oimeke Director of Renewable Energy from ERC Kenya, and Dr Leah Oyake-Ombis Chief Officer Environment & Forestry from Nairobi City County.
Ms Orit Atias, Chromagen international sales Manager gave a presentation of the Chromagen solar heating solutions for houses, tall buildings and commercial use.
Being a Kenyan company we were very happy to see that the Kenyan official bodies take the subject seriously and make a great effort to promote and incorporate renewable means in general and solar water heating specifically in Kenya’s future.
We had the opportunity to take the director Mr Pavel Robert Oimeke to a construction site where he was introduced to the only officiant solution of solar water heating for tall buildings, a domestic centralized system. The director was impressed and according to him, up to date tall buildings were not forced to install solar water heating systems due to the fact that common solar water heaters cannot heat water efficiently for high-rise buildings and the centralized domestic system was not familiar in Kenya.
This system is not very familiar out of Israel, where it has been used for many years. The tallest building in the world that uses that system was installed by Chromagen in Chile.
THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE SOLAR WATER HEATING REGULATIONS STARTS
The enforcement of the solar water heaters law Starts
Solar Water Heating Regulations 2012 require property developers and homeowners and commercial users whose premises use more than 100 liters of hot water daily to fit them with solar heating systems.
For a long time the ERC announces and publishes the regulations, but developers, contractors and other engaged in the construction industry did not take it seriously.
Contravening the rules will attract fines of up to Sh1 million or a one-year jail term or both.
The ERC realized that if they do not act decisively, the regulations will not be exercised in practice.
From the star we learn that ERC director for renewable energy Pavel Oimeke said the regulator will from this week start mapping out construction sites in Nairobi, Machakos, Kiambu and Kajiado counties with a view to enforcing the rules. http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/erc-enforce-solar-water-heating-rules-sites
Despite the significant increase in demand for solar heating, only a small percentage of new construction install solar water heaters and boilers installed in many cases do not match the regulations or the needs of the consumer.
Various companies engaged in solar water heaters in Kenya, take advantage of the vacuum created between the need for solar water heaters and lack of knowledge of the customers.
We have seen many times installed systems that do not meet the standards, or do not comply with the use for which they were installed.
For this purpose ERC defined authorized technicians to install solar water heaters.
Only a licensed technician authorized to install and must report to the ERC on the installation.
Contractors, developers and other consumers who purchase cheap systems that do not meet the standards or systems that do not correspond to the needs of the premises, risking the possibility that the ERC will disqualify the system, then they will have to purchase new systems at an additional cost.
INSTALLATION OF SOLAR IN SYOKIMAU
Solav all in one 170 liters installed on a house in syokimau, service free, efficient and elegant.
the Solav is the only direct heating solar heater that can cope with any kind of water , hard or soft and it is service free .
Not all solar water heaters can handle hard water like in syokimau.
PH, salts or other minerals affect the efficiency and lifespan of the solar water heater.
For the use of hard water is necessary to use solar water heater called heat exchangers or closed loop solar water heaters,that heaters usually cost more and require occasional service which is subject to charges.Solav is a water heater that heats water directly . the quality of the water does not affect the the life span of the solar water heater, because it is built from polymers which are not affected by water quality.The Solav solar water heater does not require regular service it is service free ,it’s price cheaper than other solar water heaters of the same quality in addition to saving of service costs over the years.No commissioning is required
The SOLAV solar water heater is designed for warm sunny climates Like in Kenya. Under these condition, the water heats up to bathing temperature within hours free of charge.
Solav is built from 85 liters collectors and comes in three sizes, 85 liters, 170 liters, and 255 liters. Solav is a tank-less plugin in system that is very easy to install and due to the flat installation it looks good on the roof, Solar collector and hot water storage are in one integrated unit.
The Solav comes with 5 years manufacturer warranty.
SOLAR PANELS INSTALLED IN KILELESHWA
When we promise we keep our promises !
We promised customer who purchased 20 solar water heaters to come and install the panels on Wednesday 12/17/14.
The morning started with technical problems, the equipment that lift solar water heaters to the rooftop got malfunction and the work got delayed until 10 am.
Even so, the staff of Energood completed the installation of all 20 solar panels , and at 17:30 the equipment was folded and packaged in the cars ready for the return to company’s warehouse.
mor developers in kenya are aware of Kenyan solar water heaters law requiring installation of solar water heaters to all the houses and buildings that use hot water.
The installation of the solar water heaters for Rowen Properties in Kilelshwa Nairobi for is an example of an elegant installation that does not harm the appearance of the building,the solar panels installed on the roof and solar water heaters tanks are installed in the attic.
This is one mor example of the benefits of solar water heaters with flat panel, vacuum-tube solar water heaters, the tank must be installed on the roof connected to the vacuum tubes unless it is a forced circulation system which costs a lot more, consume more power and require more services, while in flat-panel solar water heaters the panel connected with copper pipes to the solar tank and can be installed separately while maintaining the principle of thermosiphon operation.
We congratulate Rowen Properties for choosing Chromagen, the world’s best solar water heater and welcome them to the Energood family
