I have been doing several long from and in-depth blogs, based on the estimated CO2 emissions from the World Bank. This blog post I will deviate away from these analysis, and I will briefly discuss the performance of my parents Site Built Air Collector.

In my first couple blogs (link) I posted about Site Built Air Collectors (SBAC’s), and I gave an argument on why I think they are a viable and under utilized form of renewable energy. Well I just got this performance letter (edited to remove personal info) from the local utility about my parents house. This latter blog post (link), goes into more detail about the SBAC.

My parents house is an average house built in the 90’s. It is in good shape with no major leaks or anything that would drastically decrease energy efficiency. However, there are no energy efficiency upgrades installed in the house with the exception of the SBAC that my dad and I built in a weekend. So, it is just an average house, in good condition, with a SBAC constructed by amateurs. Apparently it is performing about 30% more efficiently than an average home in the area, and it is even outperforming an “efficient house”.

My parents state that the solar collector has the be sole cause of this improved efficiency. As, if anything, they are keeping the house warmer, than they used to. They said that before the collector was installed the house was typically kept around 65 F, when the house was occupied. Now it is typically kept around 68 F. Even with the house being kept at a higher temperature, it is often the case that the heater will not turn on during the day time.

SW Gas (the local gas utility) only sends these letters when a home is performing substantially better than an average house in the area. My parents have been receiving these letters every 6 months since we have installed the collector, and they have never received one before it was installed.

It also should be noted that the winter of 2016 (the time period when the letter above was sent out) was literally one of the wettest (and therefore cloudiest) on record (link). Even with having some of the worst weather conducive to solar heating, my parents house still out performed even the most efficient homes in the area. Apparently, the previous letters showed the house was substantially out performing even the most efficient homes. I gotta say, I am impressed. And if I can get the previous letters from SW Gas (my parents threw away the old ones), I will up date this blog with a better analysis.

Leave a comment, let me know your thoughts.