Fairfield man donates solar thermal array to rec center

FAIRFIELD — A Fairfield resident has donated a solar thermal array to the Roosevelt Recreation Center.

Alex Stanley is the man responsible, and he said he was looking for an interesting project to support around town, and happened upon this idea. Stanley is also the donor responsible for creating Petra Park on Fairfield’s Main Street, a park he dedicated to his late wife, Petra, who died of cancer in 2016.

Stanley said he became interested in promoting solar thermal after he installed his own solar thermal array at his house, which he uses to heat his water. He said that photovoltaic solar arrays have become popular in Fairfield, though he’s more fond of solar thermal arrays because of their efficiency.

“Photovoltaic arrays gather 18-20 percent of the energy that falls on them, whereas solar thermal is more efficient because you’re not trying to turn it into another form of energy,” Stanley said. “All solar thermal does is make hot water, and they can collect 80 percent of the energy that falls on them.”

Stanley said he proposed a solar thermal array for the rec center a year ago, and that because of part shortages and delays, it took more than a year to order and install it. The array was just installed earlier this spring on the rec center’s roof. Stanley said he’s glad to know that this will save the rec center money on its natural gas bill, since it will be able to heat its water with energy from the sun.

At his house, Stanley’s solar thermal array provides all the hot water he needs from February through November, except on rare occasions where there are two or three cloudy days in a row. In December and January, he has to supplement the heat from his thermal array with propane.

“I set up my system to capture as much heat as possible, and my hot water can be as hot as 140 degrees,” he said.

The cost of the solar thermal array that Stanley purchased for the rec center was about $45,000.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com