The solar collectors atop L.L. Bean’s flagship store are a visible symbol of their commitment to using sustainable energy whenever possible.

Photo courtesy of L.L. Bean

L.L. Bean, the iconic Maine outdoor apparel and equipment retailer, took one more step towards their corporate goal of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2012 with the installation of a solar hot water system on their flagship store in Freeport, Maine.

The system consists of 180 evacuated tube solar hot water collectors which heat twin 80 gallon Stiebel Eltron solar hot water storage tanks.

The closed loop system contains non toxic antifreeze which pumps from the tanks to the collectors, where it is heated by the sun, and then back to the storage tank where it passes through a heat exchange coil to heat the domestic hot water supply.

From May to September the array will provide nearly 100% of the hot water used for the flagship store’s employee shower, custodial basins, 2 cafes and 29 sinks.  Beans’ existing propane hot water heater serves as a backup.

“This system can heat enough water on sunny days so that we won’t need to fire up the water heaters in the store,” says George Croston, HVAC Senior Supervisor in Facilities and the project manager for the solar panel installation. “On overcast days and on cold days in the winter, the system will still preheat water so that we’ll use less energy to get it up to the right temperature of 120 degrees F.”

Here is a video of ReVision cofounder Fortunat Mueller (who designed the system) explaining how it works:

L.L. Bean: Showing People Solar Works

“We want visitors to see these solar panels and make the positive connection that L.L.Bean is investing in and promoting renewable energy,” says L.L.Bean Senior Public Relations Representative Laurie Brooks. “The more businesses that make these types of changes, the better. It’s our hope that eventually green technology will become mainstream, and prices for solar technology will become more affordable.”

The solar hot water investment is part of larger environmental stewardship efforts by L.L. Bean, which include upgrading lighting systems throughout the company, converting heating systems to natural gas (from oil and propane) and implementing a corporate energy policy.

“In concert with additional energy efficiency projects, [the solar hot water system] will allow us to achieve our EPA Climate Leaders goal of reducing our greenhouse gases 20 percent by 2012,” adds Laurie. Climate Leaders is a voluntary partnership between industry and government that encourages companies to develop long-term strategies that reduce CO2 emissions.

L.L. Bean has also committed to build all new structures according to the US Green Building Council’s LEED standards and has converted their heavy-duty truck fleet to biodiesel fuel.

You can learn more about L.L. Bean’s environmental commitment on their website.

Making Solar Affordable

L.L. Bean expects to use 850 fewer gallons of propane each year with the new system, resulting in a savings of nearly $1,900 in fuel costs in the first year alone, and more than $51,000 in fuel savings over the warrantied 15-year life of the solar heating system. The system should last much longer than that—the solar panels L.L. Bean installed on the roof of their Taylor Building in the 1980s are still producing hot water for that building’s restrooms and employee showers decades later.

“In addition, use of renewable energy, in concert with additional energy efficiency projects, will allow us to achieve our EPA Climate Leaders goal of reducing our greenhouse gases 20 percent by 2012,” adds Laurie. Climate Leaders is a voluntary partnership between industry and government that encourages companies to develop long-term strategies that reduce CO2 emissions.

The project was made possible in part thanks to an Efficiency Maine Commercial Grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The stimulus funding reduced payback projections for L.L.Bean’s new hot water solar system to less than 5 years, with immediate cost savings. 

Next time you visit Freeport, be sure to keep an eye open for the system, which sits to the right of the legendary Bean Boot on the flagship store (on the roof of the camping area).

The Town of Dayton, Maine will now enjoy electric bills of nearly zero year-round thanks to a 15 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system commissioned the first week of August.

The system, which received funding from Efficiency Maine as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

An article about the project was featured in The Journal Tribune:

The solar panels will produce 21,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, according to an e-mail from Town Treasurer Angela Cushman.

Last year, the town used about 24,600 kilowatt hours of electricity for the municipal building, which includes heating and cooling, at a cost of about $3,600, said Cushman.

The system uses real-time data monitoring so that the town can track performance of the system.

Read more about the system in the full article from the Journal Tribune (PDF Download).

More Photos, from Our Commercial Solar Project Gallery:

Peace Fleece is a unique yarn company committed to helping historic enemies cooperate and prosper through trade. Peace Fleece offers knitting yarn made from a blend of Russian, Romanian, American, Israeli and Palestinian wools as well as felting supplies, batts for quilters. Also Russian handpainted knitting needles and wooden buttons, patterns, knitting, crochet and felting kits and batting and raw fleeces for hand spinners as well as Waldorf puzzles and toys made in Russia. The company’s energy efficient offices are located in a barn on a sheep and horse farm in the idyllic town of Porter, nestled in the foothills of southwestern Maine

Peter Hagerty and his wife, Martha Tracy, started buying wool from the Soviet Union back in 1985 with a goal of using mutually beneficial trade to help diffuse the threat of nuclear war. Since then they have journeyed through eastern Europe, central Asia and the Middle East in search of farmers and shepherds who are willing to set aside historic enmities in exchange for opportunities leading to mutual understanding and economic interdependence.

Their journey to solar energy began with an interest in another renewable resource – wood. For over ten years the farm’s major source of heat has been a Tarm gasifying wood boiler which our sister company ReVision Heat sells and services. On a visit to Peace Fleece in April, ReVision Energy co-founder Phil Coupe helped Peter and Martha assess solar electric options for their farm.

Thanks to a suite of strong rebates and more affordable solar electric prices, Peace Fleece decided to put a 4.2kw grid-tied solar electric array on their barn roof, which is oriented to ideal solar south. The system features Enphase micro-inverters, which provide real-time internet data monitoring that Peace Fleece has made available to the public:

Peter writes of his experience with ReVision:

The great thing about living in the State of Maine is that everyone is connected one way or another. When the Revision crew arrived for the installation, the crew leader Josh and I quickly realized that we not only had several friends in common but also shared a committment to bio-fuels.

On that day I was having trouble with a bio-diesel engine that is pulled by our draft horses and powers our haying equipment. Josh described to me how a friend had run parallel fuel lines so when one filter clogged he could switch over to the other line and stay in business. I went back to my haying and Josh climbed back up on the roof to finish the installation.

The system is expected to produce roughly 4,400 killowatts of clean, renewable energy each year. This energy will offset 5,722 lbs. of CO2 emissions that otherwise would have been produced by fossil-fuel burning energy plants.

The solar hot water system for Scratch Baking Company has reduced their natural gas usage by more than 25%

For Bob Johnson at the Scratch Baking Company, solar hot water was a matter of “very simple math.”

With a modest investment in a solar hot water system, his business could “take a pretty big chunk out of our carbon contribution as well as save money by using less gas to heat hot water.”

With such a nice intersection of environmental stewardship and economics, it was simply a matter of finding the funds to invest in the system.

“Based on our calculations, the payback [for the system] would be relatively short, but we still wanted to find some sort of grant or partial financing so we would not have to take the full cash hit on the install,” Bob says. “ReVision’s staff was on top of this goal and advised me last fall that there was a Commercial Projects Grant available for solar energy projects of our size and scope. This was a Federal grant administered by Efficiency Maine. Jen (from ReVision) and I partnered in putting the grant together and it was awarded to Scratch in February.”

Make Hot Water While the Sun Shines

ReVision Energy co-founder Fortunat Mueller, one of the leading solar thermal experts in the northeast, designed a 120-tube solar hot water system with a Rinnai Continuum natural gas on demand hot water heater serving as backup. When the sun is shining, sun-heated antifreeze pumps from the rooftop collectors through a heat exchange coil at the bottom of a super-insulated storage tank, producing domestic hot water for Scratch.

When someone in the bakery turns on the tap, water flows from the solar tank and through the Rinnai hot water heater. If the water temperature is above a pre-determined setpoint, the Rinnai does not fire up at all. If the water needs to be warmed by a few degrees, the Rinnai is able to fire up to provide just the amount of heat required to get the water to the appropriate temperature.

The system has been living up to expectations, allowing Scratch to seriously benefit from the solar spill we experienced in May. So far Bob estimates that the hot water system has reduced his natural gas usage by more than 25% during the first month that the system was installed.

“I go down to look at the tank temp every morning when I get to work,” he says. “If the day before was a sunny day, we will be sitting on 210 gallons of 145 deg. water that we will need to blend down to 120 deg.”

But it’s the environmental benefits that excite Bob the most. “I believe Scratch is a perfect application for this kind of technology, and being a neighborhood bakery that is a values driven business, a very good use of these kinds of funds. And because of our location and customer base, we have a real opportunity for educating people about what is possible with solar.”

The Causeway Club reports fossil-fuels savings of $8,000 in the first year of solar hot water pool heating.

Against the backdrop of gorgeous Acadia National Park is the historic The Causeway Club, which since 1920 has provided a low-key way to relax and recreate. One of its most popular attractions is its saltwater pool, which originally was unheated.

The first upgrade was in 1964, when the brisk Atlantic waters were heated with LP gas, which was further improved in 2008 when ReVision Energy installed a solar hot water system.

“I doubt any of your installations have produced as great a percentage savings,” says Larry Hudgens, General Manager, who reports that in the first year of service the system saved 80% of the prior year’s propane expenditure. The estimated value of that fuel is roughly $8,000. Two years later, Larry reports that the “solar pool heating system is operating as designed with a minimum of commissioning this spring.”

Harvest the Sunshine for Your Pool

Outdoor pool heating is an excellent application for solar hot water, and one that is common in sunny climates like Florida and California. Yet, Maine has ample sunshine to harvest for a pool, extending the duration of swimming season and dramatically reducing the cost of fossil-fuel based water heaters.

Pool heating can take advantage of the very simplest type of solar hot water collector, flat plate plastic collectors made by manufacturers like Heliocol. These collectors use an existing pool pump to direct pool water through a series of valves to the solar collectors. Pool water enters the solar collectors at the bottom and rises to the top through the individual tubes of the collectors, heated by sun the entire time. This warmed water is directed back to the pool, and the cycle continues until the pool is warmed.

More advanced systems can use regular flat plate solar hot water system to provide both domestic hot water and pool heating, which is a helpful dual purpose system (though they are ineligible for federal and state rebates).

Low Profile, High Performance

In addition to being an efficient way to heat a pool, the collectors are low-profile. So much so, that Larry tells us, “It is one of the more innocuous installations I have ever seen. We have a summer full of poolside members and I bet none of them even notice the collectors.”

But they do notice the warm salt water!

More Photos from Our Commercial Solar Photo Gallery:

For more installations, see our Solar Projects Map

ReVision recently worked with Cumberland County to install a 10.2kw solar electric system on a 9-11 communications center.

Enphase offers robust web-based data monitoring. Features include time lapse view of system performance, historical data performance download, and carbon-offset information such as equivalent # of cars not driven based on system performance.

ReVision recently worked with Cumberland County to install a 10.2kw solar electric system on a 9-11 communications center. The photovoltaic system, paid for in large part by a state grant, will offset energy use at this mission-critical facility in Southern Maine.

While the southern exposure of the building was perfect, the site did have one challenge – two large communication poles on the south side of the roof. These poles cast a shadow that tracks across the roof at different times during the day.

This is a problem for a solar array with a typical string inverter because this small amount of shading would bring down the production of the entire array, even though just a small portion of the roof is shaded.

To overcome this challenge, ReVision used Enphase micro-inverters. Enphase is a unique product which allows each module to in a sense act as its own individual array – so that shading of one module will not bring down the performance of others.

How String Inverters Work

Usually, all of the panels on an array are linked and wired so that the direct current (DC) that is generated is delivered to a single inverter that converts the DC into usable and familiar AC power. This inverter typically lives near the building’s regular electrical panel.

In the case of Enphase, each solar module acts as its own inverter – so AC is passed downstream from the array directly to the electrical panel. And when one solar panel is shaded, rather than compromising the production of the entire array, only the production of that affected solar panel is reduced.

Enphase also includes robust data monitoring software that generates a time lapse picture of the day’s solar performance. This information will be used by Cumberland County to better understand the performance of the system and its impact on their energy usage.

The 10.2 kw array will generate an estimated 14,000kw/hr each year, enough energy to power two ordinary homes, and offsetting nearly 10,000 lbs. of C02 emissions. So far, the system has displaced enough C02 to take 90 cars off the road for a day.

This 4.3KW solar array will offset roughly 7,700 lbs. of CO2 emissions annually.

ReVision recently completed the installation of a 4.3KW solar array onto the historic Hope General Store in Hope, Maine. A nice writeup of the project was featured in the The Herald Gazette.

A few things they had to say:

Andrew Stewart, owner of the Hope General Store … said the price for the panels was so good that he couldn’t pass it up. Besides the environmental benefits, one can also receive state and federal credits for using solar power, he said.

Stewart will still rely on Central Maine Power but expects to save 20 to 30 percent on his bill. He hopes to see a payback on his solar power venture in about eight years.

Besides record low prices for solar panels, there are a number of tax and credit incentives for businesses considering solar power. There remains an uncapped 30% federal tax credit for system costs, and businesses can choose to accelerate depreciation on solar installations for further tax benefits. There is also a $2,000 State of Maine rebate for solar electricity.

All told, incentives can come close to 50% of the system cost, dramatically reducing the payback time for a system that will last 25+ years.

Meanwhile, the solar system will offset roughly 7,700 lbs. of CO2 emissions annually, or the equivalent of taking 3-4 commuter vehicles off the road!

More Photos from Our Commercial Solar Photo Gallery:

For more installations, see our Solar Projects Map

The Beachmere Inn’s solar electric system generates 5-8% of the Inn’s power needs, and solar hot water has reduced oil use by more than a third!

The Maine Innkeepers Association highlighted The Beachmere Inn in Ogunquit, a certified Maine Environmental Leader in Hospitality, in their most recent newsletter.

The Innkeepers Association also recognized that the inn has been independently family owned and operated for the past 72 years.

We featured The Beachmere Inn last May, when we noted how Beachmere took their green initiatives to the next level by installing 3 active solar hot water systems and a 5 kilowatt solar electric system

In the first two months of service, the solar hot water systems reduced oil consumption by 34%. Their solar hot water systems supply hot water for a 32-room main building and generate domestic hot water in employee housing buildings

The 5kW solar electric system covers 5-8% of the Inn’s total demand. According to their website, by mid 2009 more than 7,800 KW kilowatt hours of clean electricity have been produced by the solar array, eliminating 13,100 lbs of CO2.

Here’s a summary of the energy saving measures that The Beachmere Inn reports on their website:

• Solar Panels have been installed for Thermal Hot water for over 32 rooms as well as in our employee housing building.
• Solar Photovoltaic Panels have been installed for production of 5 – 8% of our energy needs.
• As of June 24, 2009 over 7,800 KW has been produced by solar power a savings of 13,100 Lbs. of Co2.
• Compact Fluorescent bulbs will be in used in all lighting
• Cold water laundry processes are being used to save electricity by eliminating the need to heat hot water for the laundry systems through Ozone technology.
• Energy star appliances are chosen first for any appliance replacement
• High efficiency heating & cooling units were installed in 2008 for Beachmere West
• Additional insulation was installed in the exterior walls and ceiling for better building envelope efficiency in Beachmere West.
• In 2007 we installed efficient, timed irrigation for the lawn and drip irrigation for our planting beds, in 2008 that effort has continued.
• High efficiency Low E Eagle windows are installed in Beachmere West (2008) and were used for all the window & door replacement at Beachmere South (2008) and in the Victorian (2000 – on going).
• Since 2000 we have been replacing old inefficient oil burners with Buderus boilers in the Victorian, South and West buildings.

In addition to their commitment to reducing energy and using energy from clean, renewable sources, The Beachmere Inn has a host of green administrative, cleaning, and building practices.

The Maine Environmental Leader in Hospitality distinction recognizes all of these efforts, and in fact, The Beachmere Inn has “one of the highest totals in certification scoring points.”

Sarah Diment, owner at The Beachmere Inn, feels, “It’s important to take steps towards environmental efficiencies as a smart business move. We know by becoming ‘greener’ we have a direct impact on bettering our environment. Our guests appreciate our efforts and implement some of what they see here in their homes.”

Visit the Maine DEP website to learn more about Maine’s Environmental Leader program, or call 1-800-789-9802.

Congratulations again, Beachmere!