Solar Hot Water Project Underway

Mars Hill is starting one of the largest solar projects in the state and western North Carolina, college officials said.

A solar power installation at Mars Hill College is one of the largest in the state, and it will also generate more energy than any other solar project for a college in western North Carolina, according to a news release issued this semester.

The project involves the installation of 75 solar thermal collectors to serve Pittman Dining Hall, Gibson Residence Hall, and Brown Residence Hall. FLS Energy, a solar energy company based in Asheville, is providing the service.

The solar thermal collectors should generate enough energy to produce more than 3,000 gallons of hot water per day. The project should also prevent the release of more than 44 tons of carbon dioxide pollution a year. This is the equivalent of taking 20 cars off the highway or planting 43 acres of trees, according to the college’s office of communications.

Beginning immediately after its installation, which began earlier this fall, the project should reduce the costs for the college to heat this water by 10 percent. Mars Hill is expecting a total reduction of costs between 20 percent and 28 percent compared to the usage of natural gas or fossil fuels.

The solar panel project is the latest development in Mars Hill’s plans to make the campus “greener.” The new Ferguson Math and Science building includes a geothermal and cooling system to reduce heating and cooling costs. The college also installed “thermo-pane” windows in Nash Education Building and Moore Fine Arts Building.
 

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