During the home building process there are decisions that need to be made, and when building green there are many challenges that arise. When we began building The Montagnaro house in Ghent, NY we were faced with the challenge of heating a large pool and doing it in an eco-friendly, and cost effective way. After bouncing ideas around and brainstorming a few options we decided that Solar Thermal Heating would be the best way to go.
We had already planned to use Photovoltaic solar panels on the house, and decided that we would get the most out of this system, not only using it for the energy but to heat the pool as well. Underneath the solar panels we install coils which are filled with water. This water is heated by the rays from the sun and the heat from the solar panels. This hot water is then used to heat the pool as well as supply heat to the home when it is unoccupied.
The Solar Panels we used were BIPV or Building Integrated Photovoltaic. This is done with thin, rolled out solar panels that sit inside the standing seam of the roof so that you don’t have unattractive panels sticking out, as you can see below.
We love a good challenge, and coming up with working solutions is very exciting. We were able to heat the pool in a sustainable way, as well as preserve the beauty of the green home we designed. Tell us about some green solutions you have come up with or problems you may be facing.