Strike a Chord: Solar Water Heating Comes to Rockaway Firehouses

by Caroline Ballard | 06/26/2014 | 7:30am

Strike a Chord: Solar Water Heating Comes to Rockaway Firehouses

WFUV's Strike a Chord Campaign is focusing on a greener metropolitan region.

For the firemen at engine 265 in the Rockaways, the firehouse is home away from home. On any given day there are 15 to 20 people cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and taking showers. That takes a lot of hot water.

In March, engine 265 switched from natural gas heating to solar power. Chief Charles Silvia said the transition went smoothly.

"Even with everyone taking showers and using water there has been no issues. It’s always been hot so it works," said Silvia.

Here's how it works. Large silver panels on the roof contain glass tubes. Water is pumped to these tubes, absorbs the solar energy, and is then stored in a water tank in the basement. 

"It seems to me that this is the way to go because there’s no negative side effects. So this is working well here and they’re going to be doing this in all the houses in battalion 47," said Silvia.

Those five houses in battalion 47 are part of a joint project between the FDNY, New York Power Association, and City Administrative Services. Emily Small, the city’s acting Deputy Commissioner for energy management, said the systems in battalion 47 could be a valuable model for future projects.

"Since it’s a pilot we’ll kind of watch them and kind of monitor them and see how they perform. And if they do in fact turn out to be a good investment then we’ll look for other opportunities to expand and do more," said Small.

The solar panels are projected reduce operating costs and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 14 tons each year.

 

 

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