Evaluation of Community-Scale Solar Water Heating in Los Angeles County
Investigating the energy savings, feasibility, and cost effectiveness of community-scale solar water heating.
The Regents of the University of California on behalf of the Los Angeles Campus
Recipient
Los Angeles, CA
Recipient Location
24th
Senate District
51st
Assembly District
$225,411
Amount Spent
Completed
Project Status
Project Result
The recipient submitted the final report and the project is complete. The report conclusions indicate that community scale solar water heating may be viable, under the right conditions, including adequate roof top space and residential density. Costs may also vary widely because a retrofit depends on the condition and configuration of a building's plumbing, and whether the natural gas heaters that are currently installed can be used as auxiliary heaters. Qualification for incentives is also essential for any solar water heating project to be economically and practically feasible. If all conditions are favorable, community scale solar water heating could reduce the water heating load by up to 50%. The results of this research may inform policy makers and community developers about the viability of community scale solar water heating and whether or not it should be pursued.
The Issue
While Solar Water Heating (SWH) systems have been implemented across California, community scale SWH has not yet been widely adopted. It is not yet clear what the ideal SWH configuration is for a community scale system, or how the geographic and building type characteristics inform the best configuration for a given site.
Project Innovation
This project investigated the electric, natural gas, and GHG emission savings of community-scale solar water heating. The team also assessed the cost-effectiveness of highly efficient advanced energy systems for community scale water heating.
Project Benefits
This project produced a series of reports and case studies to understand the environmental and cost benefits of community solar water heating (SWH) to replace conventional building-level hot water systems. The research defined the needs for a community scale SWH system, identified current technologies and configurations, described the trade-offs with other clean energy technologies for cost-effectiveness and feasibility, and evaluated land use requirements. The data from the reports and case study provided information on the GHG reductions associated with reduced natural gas use from community scale SWH systems. Replacing conventional gas water heating at multi-family buildings with solar will help California meet its AB32 goals and targets for zero net energy buildings and communities.
Affordability
Community scale solar water heating may reduce natural gas and electricity consumption by replacing building hot water systems. Reductions in energy consumption will reduce energy cost of building owners.
Key Project Members
Stephanie Pincetl
