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Merrimack College reports one of its professors has received a grant to install a solar-powered hot water heating system in student residences.
Electrical engineering professor Jack Adams got a $10,000 grant from the Paul E. Murray Fellowship, which is intended to fund science and engineering research done in the classroom. Adams and students have installed the system in the Haverhill Townhouse, adding solar panels to the roof and a hot water system in the building’s basement.
The North Andover-based school said Adams has a similar system in his home, which he installed in 2007.
The system uses a controller to determine when antifreeze contained in the solar panels is 20 degrees warmer than the water in the tank. Then, a pump circulates the antifreeze through a coil inside the tank, and heat is exchanged from the coil to the water, which becomes heated. The antifreeze is needed to avoid winter freeze-ups. The school said it was interested in the energy and cost savings the project could bring.
Merrimack said it is also working on projects including blending diesel and cooking oil for fuel for physical plant vehicles, removing trays from the dining hall to reduce water and detergent use, and waste recycling.
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