For over 30 years Aquatherm Industries has exclusively manufactured polymer solar collectors for pool heating, and to date over 400,000 pool owners have enjoyed a longer, more comfortable swimming season thanks to an Aquatherm Solar Pool Heater. But, while pool heating is the most practical application of low temperature unglazed polymer collectors, we sometimes hear of “outside the box” installations. The recent installation of 900 4’ x 10’ Ecosun collectors installed on a Nestle plant in Mexico City is a perfect example of such an installation.
Nestle’s various production processes require large volumes of well water to be heated to steam (212º F or 100º C). Through the use of an inexpensive, efficient polymer solar collector – such as the Ecosun collector used in the installation – Nestle is now able to pre-heat the water from ground temperatures to as high as 100º F (38º C) using the sun’s free energy, before using traditional boilers to heat the water to the required end-temperature. With this “hybrid” system, Nestle is able to dramatically reduce energy costs and consumption. Nestle has plans for a secondary solar installation next year, consisting of flat-plate or evacuated tube collectors, which will heat the water from 38º C to 90º C, nearly eliminating the need for boilers entirely.
Aquatherm Master Dealer and Regional Distribution Center Modulo Solar (Civac Morelos, Mexico) was awarded the contract based on their experience with large-scale solar pool heating systems – last year Modulo Solar installed 700 Ecosun collectors at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional olympic-sized swimming pool, which is currently the largest solar pool heating system in North America.
