Solar Thermal Panels Installed at Himalayan Institute Headquarters (Photo Credit: Mukti Broner)
Inauguration Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 9 a.m. at the Himalayan Institute
HONESDALE, PA. (November 6, 2010)— The Himalayan Institute is proud to announce the installation of the largest solar thermal hot water system in Wayne County, at the organization’s international headquarters located north of Honesdale. This Project was financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Financing Authority, and by the Himalayan Institute. Installation of this new solar thermal system is an integral step in the Institute’s Sustainability Action Plan for reducing its overall carbon foot print.
Last spring, the Himalayan Institute received through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Solar Energy Program, a grant in the amount of $51,857 to cover half the cost of the solar thermal system implementation. The Institute pledged the other half of the capital required as an early gift to its members in celebration of the organization’s 40th anniversary which will take place next year. A team of Institute members with backgrounds in architecture and green design worked with local Honesdale business Gravity Sun Power to design the system and write the grant proposal. The solar thermal hot water system, installed by Gravity Sun Power, is expected to heat an average of 1200 gallons of water a day, and to generate more than 184,000 kilowatt hours annually. It will provide 70-80% of the Institute’s hot water needs, and save more than 3600 gallons of propane each year.
The system includes thirty 4’x8’ flat panel solar thermal collectors manufactured by EnerWorks, installed on two south-facing roofs of the Institute main building. These collectors raise the temperature of a heat transfer fluid which travels into the Institute’s boiler room to heat water before it is distributed to sinks, showers, washing machines, and dishwashers.
This project complements the recent upgrading of the Himalayan Institute’s original steam boilers to a system that is 50% more efficient. Upcoming projects in the realm of sustainable development include installing more energy-efficient components such as upgraded lighting systems, and investigation of the feasibility of installing photovoltaic solar panels to meet much of the Institute’s electrical power needs and to feed electricity into the area’s power grid.
The Himalayan Institute is a non-profit educational, spiritual and charitable organization, and is the premier center for yoga, meditation and holistic health. The organization also established and supports humanitarian projects through sustainable community centers in India, Mexico and Cameroon, West Africa.
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