Solar Hot Water | Nexus

Category: Energy

Topic: solar hot water, hot water

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Nexus
  • Built in 2002/3
  • 11 levels of residential apartments (88 apartments)
  • 3 levels of commercial office/retail suites (14 suites)
  • 4 levels basement car parking
  • Plant Rooms, Meeting room and Gymnasium
  • Two residential lifts run from the basement levels
  • One commercial lift runs for four levels
  • Two common electricity supplies service the common areas of the building: foyer lighting, lifts, car park exhaust fans, water pumps, fire service pumps, etc
  • Central solar hot water to individual units
  • A common water cooled air conditioning tower provides chilled water to individual apartment fan units
Website

Central Hot Water System

  • Hot water peak demand was estimated at 7,714 litres per day - delivered by 6 gas hot water boilers “on demand” to individual units
  • Apartments are individually metered and billed by their retail supplier for hot water used based on the gas used by the central boilers and a conversion of the water used by individual apartments
  • Average age of the gas hot water boilers was found to be less than 7 years with several failures and leakages highlighting the need for replacement
  • A solar pre-heated system has been installed that provides hot water through evacuated-tube solar collectors. It is backed up with 6 gas hot water heaters for “grey days”
  • Anticipated reduction in gas usage is in the order of 80%! This will be immediately reflected in the gas bill for each apartment
  • CO2 emissions will reduce from 48 to 8 tonne per year
  • Cost: $80,000
  • Payback: <30 months

This is but one of several initiatives undertaken by Nexus over a 12-month period.

Solar panel