Juvenille Justice Solar Water Heater

The County has installed a solar hot water system at the Juvenile Detention Center. The decision to incorporate this technology into the operations of the building was based on logic, facts, and a need to save money.  At any given time, there are between 25 and 35 youth that call the facility home; i.e. an average of 30 showers being taken everyday.  Also, the detention center has full laundry services as well as a full kitchen-"there is a lot of hot water being used at this location," says Energy Coordinator, Andrew Smith. Installing a solar water heating system made the most sense for cost and conservation of resources. 

“A typical solar water-heating system reduces the need for conventional water heating by about two-thirds. It minimizes the expense of electricity or fossil fuel to heat the water and reduces the associated environmental impacts” (US Department of Energy).

Like most solar water-heating systems for buildings, the system the County opted to install has two main parts: (1) a flat-plate solar collector and (2) a storage tank.