Evacuated tube solar system installed

Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors deliver high-efficiency solar thermal water heating for New Mexico homes, performing in cold, cloudy weather, reaching 120 F, with incentives like federal tax credits, state rebates, and sales tax waivers.

Solar Panels Plus (SPP) announced that its SPP-25 evacuated tube solar thermal collectors are being installed on homes built by Los Ebanistas Construction in Northern New Mexico.

SPP is a designer and manufacturer of photovoltaic solar panels, solar water heating collectors, solar air conditioning and heating systems. Los Ebanistas is a home builder specializing in the construction of residential frame and adobe homes in Northern New Mexico communities.

“Solar Panels Plus is pleased to see our solar thermal collectors being installed in New Mexico and we look forward to providing more home owners with the industry’s most efficient solar products,” said John Williams, COO, Solar Panels Plus. “Evacuated tube collectors are the right choice for Northern New Mexico, as well as for any area where temperatures can be too low for flat-panel type collectors to perform well year-round. It’s encouraging to see more people learning about evacuated tube solar thermal collectors and taking advantage of this cost effective technology.”

The first Los Ebanistas solar thermal system was installed at their main facility and consists of seven SPP-30 solar thermal collectors, each with 30 evacuated tubes. For residential single family homes, a smaller 25-tube version, the SPP-25, is used. The SPP collectors work especially well in situations where water temperatures at or above 120ºF are needed regardless of cold or cloudy climate conditions. The evacuated tube collectors function in almost any environment, including cold or freezing climates, while larger-scale options like concentrated solar towers continue to emerge nearby.

“We have already installed two solar water heating systems from SPP and have orders for five more,” said Mark Johnson, owner, Los Ebanistas. “The system works extremely well considering the cold climate of Northern New Mexico, and it can easily produce 120ºF water in a snowstorm or on a cloudy day.”

As an incentive for installing a solar thermal system, homeowners in New Mexico, including southern New Mexico communities, will receive a 10 percent solar credit (up to $9,000) and the federal government will pay 30 percent in the form of a federal tax credit. The 7 percent sales tax is also waived on a solar system purchase.

“We’ve been building homes for thirty years and we are now officially ‘green builders.’ SPP has been great to work with, providing us with quality solar products suitable for this environment, with projects like a solar plant in Santa Rosa showing local momentum, as well as outstanding technical support,” said Johnson.

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