DANVILLE, CA--(Marketwire - Feb 8, 2012) - Chromasun, the leading commercial rooftop solar solutions company, today unveiled construction of a solar and natural gas powered air-conditioning project at Crow Canyon Medical Center in Danville. The new system exploits low gas prices and the unique solar performance of Chromasun MCT solar panels to significantly offset the current operating costs of the building's existing electric chiller system.
Customized lease financing was arranged by Chromasun for the project. The leasing package eliminated upfront costs and deferred payments to match or beat the anticipated energy savings.
Seventy-five Chromasun MCT solar panels were installed on the roof of the five-story medical center building in a single day. A 50-ton absorption chiller that is capable of being fired either by solar energy or natural gas will also be installed. Because this chiller can be supplemented with gas when the sun is not shining, it can provide heating and cooling on a 24/7 basis. The system will annually offset 145,000 kWh of electricity normally consumed by the existing chillers for building space cooling. The system will also offset 1,100 therms of natural gas normally burned for space heating and hot water supply.
Richmond, Calif.-based SunWater Solar was contracted by Chromasun to carry out the installation.
"The MCT solar panels arrived onsite from the Chromasun factory and were ready to install immediately," said Justin Weil, president of SunWater Solar. "I believe this project is the largest solar field we have ever installed in one day. It was amazing how quickly and easily the MCT panels were mounted and commissioned."
"We have strived to incorporate the best energy efficiency and environmental performance technologies at Crow Canyon Medical Center," said General Partner of Crow Canyon Medical Center, John Moore. "However, the existing electric chillers dominated our energy consumption and represented a challenge in the building upgrade. The Chromasun solar and gas chiller installation is expected to significantly displace our future cooling and heating needs even with our limited roof area. I have been impressed by the quality of the Chromasun product and look forward to the energy savings the system will generate."
Chromasun CEO, Peter Le Lievre, noted: "The sun is free and, unlike electricity rates, natural gas prices do not spike in summer. I believe that many building owners will be surprised at how much they can save when they use gas and solar to power air conditioning and heating systems. Expensive peak electricity prices and demand charges can be avoided entirely with these technologies. It's truly a win-win to reduce building operating costs while improving environmental performance at the same time. And with Chromasun financing of the system, these benefits come with no upfront costs."
To learn more about Chromasun and the MCT system, please visit http://www.chromasun.com.
About Chromasun
Founded in 2008, Chromasun is a leading developer and manufacturer of rooftop friendly high performance solar solutions. Chromasun's unique MCT HT solar collector provides high grade thermal energy but in a familiar flat panel format with no external moving parts. The MCT HT is designed to drive high performance air-conditioning absorption chillers and other industrial process heat applications directly from sunlight. It is the most space efficient solar technology available and can produce more energy per unit of roof area than any competing technology. As a leader in the space, the Chromasun team of engineers and professionals have decades of experience in utility scale solar, air-conditioning engineering, product development and manufacturing.
Contact Information:
Chromasun Press Contact:
Michael Azzano
Cosmo PR
(415) 596-1978